Another fun event brought to you by the
Merriam-Webster
leap year noun
/ˈlēp ˌyi(ə)r/
1: a year in the Gregorian calendar, occurring once every four years, containing 366 days with February 29 added as an intercalary day.
Geocacher's Dictionary
leap year noun
1: an additional day for another geocaching adventure and to increase the numbers for the year
2: an additional day to schedule a special geocaching event
3: an additional day to get together with geocaching friends
LEAP YEAR IS FINALLY HERE!
Date: February 29, 2024
Time: 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Have you been waiting to fill in that pesky little hole in your "My Finds Each Day of the Year" grid?
If so, then this event is for you!
Now you can finally qualify for all those Calendar Challenge caches which require finds on *all* 366 days!
Come join us for a "Meet-Meat-and-Greet with the added bonus of filling that elusive date in your Jasmer Grid!
Many people are trying to cover their “caching calendar” with a find on every day of the year. If you haven’t thought about your caching calendar yet, you still might want to think ahead and come share some Geocaching fun with us! (someday the “numbers” and “stats” might be important to you, and you won’t want to be kicking yourself because you have to wait til 2228 for the next Feb 29th to roll around!)
We have the "Party" room reserved for this auspiscious occasion, so come on in out of the cold.
Please note, NO purchase is required!
As always, feel free to bring your trackables to swap, share, and discover.
So...why does Leap Year and Leap Day exist, anyway?
Glad you asked!
Leap Day is needed to correct for the difference between the calendar year and the astronomical year.
The calendar has 365 days per year to represent Earth’s movement around the sun every 365 days.
But Earth just ate a Chili-Cheese-A-Plenty and is actually moving a tad slower than that!
It actually takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds for the Earth to revolve around the sun.
The bean-counters (and scientists!) adjusted our calendars to compensate for that extra time, by adding an extra day to the year about every four years (but not every four years!)
If we didn’t correct for the difference between the two calendars, the Northern Hemisphere would eventually end up celebrating New Year’s Eve during the heat of summer and in the Southern Hemisphere, more folks might be surprised with a snowy Christmas!
As a matter of fact, by the year 2736, the entire United States would celebrate the 4th of July in deep winter!
Want to know more? Here are some interesting Leap Year facts:
Julius Caesar introduced the first Calendar Leap Year in 46 B.C.
The Earth takes exactly 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds to circle the sun. The occasional Feb. 29 ensures we don’t lose six hours every year.
Leap year babies are called "Leapers" or "Leaplings." You’d get a special name, too, if you had to wait four years to celebrate your birthday.
Feb. 29 has traditionally been a day on which women were allowed to propose to men. Sounds hopelessly outdated for the 21st century, but this is the way it has worked in many cultures for centuries!
Some cultures consider Feb. 29 an unlucky day. In Italy, people say, “Anno bisesto, anno funesto,” which translates as, “leap year, doom year.” In some countries, like Greece, people warn against planning weddings during leap years.
Feb. 29 is ofton not recognized as a Legal day. Many companies don’t recognize Leap Day as a “valid day.” They make leapers choose Feb. 28 or March 1 as their birthday instead.
Most employees who are paid fixed monthly incomes will work for free on Feb. 29 because their wages are likely not calculated to include the extra day.
There are two "Leap Year Capitals of the World." If you want to celebrate this special day in a big way, head to Texas — or New Mexico. Anthony, Texas and Anthony, New Mexico both claim the title “Leap Year Capital,” while holding lavish, multi-day celebrations each leap year.
(While nothing has been *formally* announced from Geocaching HQ, we suspect that there might be a little something special released for this day, too!)