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A century year, that is, a year which ends in two zeroes ( 1800, 1900, 2000, etc.), is not a leap year unless it is also evenly divisible by 400. This means that the year 2000 was a leap year and 2400 will also be one, but 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, and the years 2100, 2200, and 2300 will not be leap years either.

Because of this, a leap day is more likely to fall on a Monday than on a Sunday. If, for example, February 29th falls on a Sunday, you would expect it to fall on Sunday again after 28 years, but if there's a century year in these 28 years, the pattern can become disrupted. The Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 400 years, and 400 years have 97 leap days, which is not divisible by seven, so these days can never be distributed evenly. A leap day on a Sunday occurs 13 times in these 400 years, so approximately every 30.8 years, a Monday however occurs 15 times, which is roughly every 26.7 years.

Those who are born on this day usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28 during non-leap years. In the comic musical The Pirates of PenzanceThe Pirates of Penzance or The Slave of Duty is a Gilbert and Sullivan comic operetta in two acts. Music by Sir Arthur S. Sullivan, libretto by Sir William S. After the copyright problems associated with unauthorised performances of HMS Pinafore in the Un, Frederic, born on February 29, was apprenticed to a band of pirateThis article is about sea pirates. For other uses see Pirate (disambiguation A pirate is one who robs or plunders at sea without a commission from a recognised sovereign nation. Pirates usually target other ships, but have also attacked targets on shore.s until his 21st birthdayA birthday is the date on which a person was born. It is customary in many cultures to celebrate the anniversary of one's birthday in some way, for example by having a birthday party with friends in which gifts are exchanged. It is also customary to treat, in theory until he was 84 years old.

This day may be colloquially termed a leap day, though in the Roman calendarThe Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the foundation of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. Months To begin with it was a lunar calendar containing ten months, starting at the vernal equinox, traditionally invented by Ro it was February 24February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 310 days remaining, 311 in leap years. By Roman custom February 24 is the day added to a leap year, and the occurrence of February 29 is merely a consequence of this. Events 303 in a leap year which was added, giving the name of "bissextile" day or extra sixth day in the lead up to the 'Calends' of March. The Romans, realizing the need for an extra day, chose February 24th in particular only because it followed the last day of their year, which at that point in history was, of course, February 23rd. In the European Union, February 29 only officially became the leap day in 2000.

There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only on February 29; this is a tightening of an older tradition that such proposals may only occur on leap years. In 1288 the Scottish parliament legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year. The man may, of course, refuse but, by tradition, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). This law was adopted in France, Switzerland and Italy and the tradition was carried to America.

In Al Capp's comic strip Li'l Abner, a similar custom called " Sadie Hawkins Day" was commemorated on or around November 9 each year. On Sadie Hawkins Day, in the hillbilly town of Dogpatch, a race was held for spinsters, in pursuit of all the local bachelors who must marry if caught. 'Sadie Hawkin's Day' functions are still held in some places, and by association with the older tradition, sometimes now occur on or around February 29.

In France, there is an humorous periodical called la Bougie du sapeur (the sapper's candle) edited every February 29 since 1980. The name is a reference to the sapeur Camenbert . In 2004, the first number of la bougie du sapeur - Dimanche is edited. The eighth issue of the periodic will be edited in 2008.

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