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At the end of this week, we are presented with a gift of an extra day. This fortuitous day happens only once every four years. Though it is not proclaimed a national holiday, and there are no retail sales to honor it, it is definitely a day for celebration or of some recognition.

One whole set of twenty-four hours which could help a lot of us time challenged individuals. Now is this the dividends for all the time we have saved for ourselves over the last 3 years, 364 days. I suppose it is the balance between our wasted time and our saved time. Leap year day is an accumulation of left over minutes on our calendar year which can be corrected by adding another day once every four years.

For the ones who are born on this actual day, (known affectionately as leaplings) is a special birthday. The remaining years they either celebrate on February 28 or March 1 but this year is truly their special day being as there are only 4 million people born on leap day in the world with 200,000 of them being in the United States; thats roughly 1 in 1,461 people.

Some Famous People born on February 29th are:

1896-1975 William A. Wellman Academy Award winning Screenwriter of A Star is Born
1904-1957 Jimmy Dorsey Band leader
1916-1994 Dinah Shore Emmy-Award winner, The Dinah Shore Show
1960- Anthony Robbins-American Motivational Speaker
1976- Ja Rule- American Rapper and Actor

There were 3 siblings born on consecutive Leap Years

1960 Heidi Hennikson
1964 Olav Hennikson
1968 Leif-Martin Hennikson

Throughout history, some folk traditions associated with Leap Year are that this was the only year women were allowed to propose marriage to men, and by a law men were levied a fine if they refused. However, the nuptials should be planned for the following year because the Greeks believed it was bad luck to be wed during Leap Year.

Leap Day falls on a Friday this year which can add to the celebration for leaplings and non leaplings alike. Some may even take a vacation day to fully enjoy the benefits of an extra day and for your workaholics, please don't be tempted to add another work day.

Now for those of us who are always in a time crunch, this is a perfect opportunity to get caught up on all those things we put off for a later day. Well our later day is here. We could even name this day "round to it" day because we can finally get around to it on this day; almost good enough to celebrate.

So what to do on this auspicious day? And please, no comments on it being just another day.

1.Write a thank you not to someone who has gone out of his/her way for you.
2.Read that magazine or book gathering dust by your easy chair and/or night stand.
3.Work on your favorite hobby.
4.Write a snail mail letter to someone you haven't seen in a while.
5.Call your mother.
6.Give flowers to your special someone.
7.Take your kids or someone else's kids to the park.
8.Go fishing.
9.Go hiking in the woods.
10.Throw a small party or have a few friends over to celebrate the extra day.

Some restaurants and businesses are throwing Leap Year parties in honor of those born on Leap Day, for more information, or to find if there is one in your area, you can go to http://leapyearday.com/hr/.

Learn more about this author, Leah Rainstone.
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