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February 29th only comes every four years. Many exciting events have happened on past leap days. In 1692, in Salem, Massachusetts, the first witchcraft accusations were pointed to Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba. In 1960, Hugh Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago, which was later known as the busiest night club in the world. February 29, 2008 should herald an exciting leap day, since there are so many events occurring in our world.

There are many possibilities for the upcoming leap day. The current economy isn't exactly stable and a recession could be announced. Will this leap day mark new proclamations to regulate our economy? In 1794, George Washington set Jay's Treaty in effect. It settled difficulties between the U.S. and Great Britain over commerce and navigation.

The ominous war in Iraq could come to an end. If the old saying "history repeats itself" is true, the war probably won't end on this leap day. In 1944, General Douglas MacArthur led the invasion of the Admiralty Islands. Will our generals lead historical invasions in the Middle East?

Why is a leap day inserted in February every four years and who made this rule? In ancient Rome, political leaders added an extra day to the end of a ruler's term if the ruler was favored. In some cases, this was happening every year. So what was the result? The seasons were thrown off.

According to NASA, an Alexandrian astronomer named Sosigenes advised Roman emperor Julius Caesar to add the extra day. Caesar created the Julian calendar system because it takes the earth longer than 365 rotations to circle the sun. The exact rotation is 365.24219. This may seem like a small amount, but in actuality, without the leap year, the seasons wouldn't occur during the proper time of year. If we don't have a leap year, winter could take place in July and summer during December.

Julius Caesar declared February 29th as the leap day because of other holidays during the month of February. If he would have added the day at the first of the year, the Roman holidays would fall at the wrong times. The Julian calendar was later replaced.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII, decreed the use of the Gregorian Calendar, which we now use. What was wrong with Caesar's Julian calendar? It was somewhat too long, causing the vernal equinox to move inward. Since this effect also caused the day Easter is celebrated on to move closer to Christmas, Gregory adopted the following rule:

"Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100; the centurial years that are exactly divisible by 400 are still leap years. For example, the year 1900 is not a leap year; the year 2000 is a leap year."*

Looking at the upcoming leap day on February 29, 2008, we can only wait with anticipation at what may come. Everyone everywhere can make their own memorable historical events. Maybe plans for proposal to marry or party plans will come your way. Maybe you will want to make a time capsule to open on February 29, 2012. Another idea is to plan a list of goals for the next four years to achieve by the next leap year. The history of February 29, 2008 is up to you. What will you do?

* Introduction to Calendars. (13 September 2007). United States Naval Observatory.

Learn more about this author, Wendy Brock.
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