Beech Tree News Network

Many been counting down the days in February, hoping for a reprieve from winter weather as spring looms in the not-so-distant future.

Today, however, those eager to spring forward to March will have to wait a bit longer than usual. 2016 is a leap year, meaning February features 29 days instead of the usual 28.

This added day once every four years keeps the calendar year in sync with the astronomical year. The earth’s orbit around the sun isn’t completed in exactly 365 days. By adding this day, we compensate for the fact that our 365-day year is shorter than a solar year by nearly six hours.

Leap Year Facts:
-In the United States, leap year’s coincide with presidential election years.
-The extra day is called an intercalary day -- or a leap day.
-In 45 B.C. a decree by Julius Caesar began the practice of adding an extra day every four years, with the creation of the Julian calendar. (Source: CNN.com).

Leap Year Folklore:
-In the British Isles, women traditionally might propose marriage only on leap years. Supposedly, a 1288 law required that a man refusing a marriage proposal pay a fine. In order to soften the blow, compensation might be in the form of a kiss, a small amount of money, or a silk gown. In some places, the tradition restricted female proposals to the modern leap day, February 29, or to the medieval leap day, February 24.
•Denmark’s tradition was that women might propose on February 24, and that a refusal must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves.
-In Finland, if a man refused a woman's proposal on leap day, he was expected to buy her the fabric for a skirt.
-According to Greek tradition, marriage in a leap year was considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid getting married in a leap year (Wikipedia).

So, what will you do with the additional 24 hours? Focus more on that news year’s resolution you’ve let fall by the wayside? Get a head start on spring cleaning? Nap your winter blues way? Let us know in the comment section below.