…DAYS, FIVE HOURS, 48 MINUTES AND 46 SECONDS TO GO AROUND THE SUN? That is why, every four years, the hours not included in the 365 days in each of the earlier four years accumulate as an additional day, February 29th. Years that have the extra day are called leap years and have 366 days.

…TO FIND OUT IF A YEAR IS A LEAP YEAR, YOU CAN JUST CHECK IF IT CAN BE DIVIDED BY FOUR? For example: 2024, 2020, and 2016.

…FEBRUARY 29TH BIRTHDAYS CELEBRATE THE DATE ON FEBRUARY 28TH OR MARCH 1ST? However, the birth certificate of people born then lists the exact date of February 29th.

…THIS RULE WENT INTO EFFECT IN ANCIENT ROME? Emperor Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) adopted the leap year to make the calendar year (the division of months and days) adjust to the solar year (the time it takes the Earth to travel around the Sun). However, February 29th was only officially included in the Gregorian calendar (the most common in the world and the one used in Brazil) in1582.

…CALENDARS OTHER THAN THE GREGORIAN ONE ACCOUNT FOR LEAP YEARS IN OTHER WAYS? For example, Ethiopia uses the Ethiopian calendar: there are 12 months with 30 days and a 13th month that has five or six days depending on whether the year is a leap year or not.

SOURCES: AGÊNCIA BRASIL, BBC BRASIL, BRASIL ESCOLA, AND JUSBRASIL.

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