Gregorian calendar

Why do we sometimes skip a day in February?

Image: Museo Galileo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gregorian calendar

Why do we sometimes skip a day in February?

Imagine you're planning a birthday party for February 29th. Every year, your friends expect it to happen, but not every year does.

The Gregorian calendar adjusts leap years to keep our calendar in sync with Earth's orbit around the Sun, preventing us from missing days.

Example

If you celebrated your birthday on February 29th in 1996, you wouldn't celebrate it in 1997 because 1996 was a leap year, but 1997 wasn't.

Remember this

The Gregorian calendar's leap year rule ensures our calendar stays aligned with the Earth's orbit, avoiding missing days.

Related concepts

Swipe through more Discover concepts

Open Pocket Polymath