Why leap when you can get freebies?

Paris – An extra day every four years, what’s not to love?

The calendar quirk of 29 February keeps us in sync with the seasons but it has also spawned a host of rituals and superstitions, not to mention computer glitches, which AFP unpacks here:

Why one day more?

Leap years have been with us since the 16th century, an invention of the Gregorian calendar, introduced to deal with a troublesome fraction in the solar year.

Bearing in mind it takes around 365.2422 days each year for the earth to revolve around the sun, the extra snippet (around six hours a year) adds up over time.

Leap days regulate things – without them we would fall out of sync with the seasons, causing havoc for farmers, as well as school holidays.

Most leap years fall every four years but as the extra snippet is not exactly six hours, they exclude years exactly divisible by 100. However, years such as 1600, 2000 or 2400 are leap years as they are exactly divisible by 400.

Forever young

For babies, or leaplings, being born on 29 February may mean four times fewer birthdays, but it is also the key to eternal youth.

With the chance of babies being born on a leap day at one in around 1 500, there are an estimated five million leaplings in the world today.

The tradition received the Hollywood treatment in 2010 with Leap Day starring Amy Adams.

Freebies

Rare days on the calendar are also a chance for businesses to try to drum up trade.

In northeastern US, the Legal Sea Foods restaurant chain is offering discounts on the region’s beloved dish, lobsters, on 29 February.

Pizza chain Papa John’s in 2008 used leap day to launch its Perfect Pan Pizza with the tag line: “One Giant Leap for Pankind.”

Leap years also generate special deals in hotels and on flights. As US flyer Virgin America put it with one of its promotions: “Why leap when you can fly?”

Marry me..

In Ireland, 29 February is known as Bachelor’s Day, when, tradition has it, women can propose to men rather than waiting to be wooed.

While some claim only a “yes” answer is allowed, others say the man can decline, but must buy his admirer a gift.