The month of February is named for the Latin word februare, which means to purify. February was the month of purification in ancient Rome. According to Wikipedia, "Historical names for February include the Old English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne's designation Hornung. In Finnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning "month of the pearl; when snow melts on tree branches it forms droplets, and as these freeze again they are like pearls of ice.” Just kidding! February has another, more interesting property. It contains the Leap Day -- the 29th of February. Normally February only has 28 days, but once every four years -- and 2016 is one of them -- there is a February 29 to adjust for the fact that there are actually 365 ¼ days in a year, not 365 as you were told.
Anyway, leap years are special. You would know this if you were born on February 29th, and only had a birthday every four years. Which would make you the only sophomore who was three years old. But Leap years are also special because by convention, in a Leap year, it is the girl that is supposed to do the asking out, offers of marriage and so forth, and not the boy. Interestingly enough, if a girl proposes to a guy on this particular day, the rule is he has to accept! So don’t be shy, you won’t get another shot until 2020.
Maybe you saw the movie "Leap Year"? The film follows Anna (Amy Adams) a woman who is hoping that her boyfriend, Jeremy (Adam Scott) of some years will pop her the question at dinner one evening. Alas, it doesn’t end in favor of her wish, and Anna wants to do something about it. After she finds out about the age-old tradition of leap year, she takes the initiative to follow Jeremy on a trip to Dublin to take advantage of this opportunity that only comes around every four years.
Well let’s be clear, I’m not rushing you off to get married. Really, I am not suggesting that so don’t do it. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss the curious event that occurs only every four years, so you only get one shot in college.
And now a few fun facts. You may be wondering who was born in a Leap Year. It’s rare so probably no one you’ve ever heard of before, but still, you may be surprised to find out exactly which celebs were born on this particular, odd day. One celeb that you’d probably recognize who was born on Feb. 29 is rapper Ja Rule, never would have guessed that, right? I sure didn’t.
Well there you have it, leap year is one interesting year, and it only comes around every four. Hopefully you learned more about this particular period than you knew before. I am certain that I did.
