Many attempts have been made to
reform our calendar and they have all proven temporary. It is obviously an intractable problem that
even with a global regime such as we have today, no one feels any compelling
reason to change it all. Yet the truth
is, it is awkward as one could imagine.
We have somewhat over 365 days to
work with and we have a natural seven day working cycle that appears to be
biologically sound. It follows that 52
weeks gives us 364 days which is pretty darn good. We have a left over day and a bit of change
to deal with.
Even more sensibly, there are
natural four week months that somewhat mimic the lunar cycle and last 28
days. There are in fact thirteen such
months and I suspect that in the Bronze Age that they actually adopted such a
system. There are clues supporting all
that. Then with an extra day to work
with, they had a natural new years day that was independent of the months.
If such a system was adjusted
purely against the solar year, it would be a pretty easy task. We do it be having our extra leap day every
four years and an extra new years day once every four years would do fine.
Likely, a mistaken attempt was
made to also relate it all to the lunar cycle which is also close on 28
days. That inevitably would have been
impossible in any form of simple practice.
The real take home is that
thirteen months of four weeks and a new years day gives us a consistent
calendar system that is easy for everyone to work with. Any more complicated and we again have the
present nonsense.
February 29 Birthday: Leaplings Make Up For Big Day Every 4 Years
First Posted: 02/27/2012 4:55 pm Updated: 02/28/2012 9:10 am
Betty Flemming was born in 1924, but because her birthday is Feb. 29,
she will celebrate her 22nd birthday this year.
Betty Flemming celebrates her 22nd birthday this year, but frankly, she
has always looked old for her age.
Her condition isn't medical, it's "calendar-ical:" She was
born Feb. 29, 1924. As such, she only has a birthday every four years, which
means she only was legally old enough to buy booze in 2008.
But that's only if you go by the birthdays that were actually on the
calendar. Chronologically, Flemming will be 88 this year and lives in a
retirement community in Springfield ,
Va.
"On my eighth birthday, my mother threw me a big surprise party on
Feb. 29," Flemming told HuffPost Weird News. "I then realized what a
special day it was. Every other year, we celebrated my birthday on March 1
because my mother said 'Feb. 28 was a day too soon!'"
Waiting four years for a real birthday sounds tough, but Flemming sees
advantages.
"I get to hear from people and talk to people that I hadn't talked
to in four years. It's a memorable day, so close friends and family always
remember to celebrate," she said. "However, like any birthday, the
hardest part is aging. Even if Feb. 29 doesn't come, I'm still another year
older."
It is estimated that 4 million people share Flemming's birthday,
including celebrities like rapper Ja Rule, motivational speaker Tony Robbins
and actor Antonio Sabato Jr., who said in 2003 (a few months before his
"eighth birthday") that he never felt shorted by the timing of his
birth.
"I'm okay with it because it's also my grandfather's
birthday," he said. "Plus, I get four years' worth of presents every
Feb. 29."
It's true that having four years between birthdays might teach delayed
gratification, but there are downsides, according to Lisa Barr, a publicist in New York
\
"I don't think I realized that I was 'different' until I was in
fourth grade," she said. "I remember someone saying that I didn't
really have a birthday -- it was a non-leap-year -- and I remember feeling hurt
and didn't understand what that meant."
Another problem: People forget she even has a birthday.
"I remember and always send birthday cards to people, so for them
to 'forget' or say, 'Well, you don't really have a birthday this year anyway,'
can hurt your feelings. Also, it's like you don't have a 'real day' that's
yours... You just get older."
Eve Griffin
"The worst part about the birthdate is that it's an embarrassing
reminder of how terrible I am at simple division," said Griffin
Stuart Hochwert, a publishing executive, said the problems go beyond
mere mathematics.
"I tried to rent a car from a national car rental firm a few weeks
ago," he told HuffPost Weird News by email. "Their system would not
take (the birthday) 2/29. I told the agent to use 2/28 and it was accepted. She
did not ask any questions, did not seem fazed, and I was off and driving
quickly."
"This happens on occasion. Some reps via phone, etc., are quite
indignant that they cannot help me when my birthday will not take, as if their
computer just popped up a screen that says 'call FBI and keep customer on
phone.' I have to explain Leap Year and some get it, and some have no
clue," he said.
Another challenge facing people born on Feb. 29 is figuring out when to
celebrate during the non-leap years. Some try to milk it by celebrating on both
Feb. 28 and March 1, but Suzanne Lyons, a public relations professional, said
her mom nipped that idea in the bud when she was young.
"From the time I was a kid and knew my birthday was different, my
mother explained to me that time never moves in reverse, it always moves
forward," she said. "I was never born on Feb. 28, I was born the day
after Feb. 28 -- no matter what day that is. That made perfect sense to my kid
brain then, and still makes sense today."
It might sound like leaplings have suffered because of the intricacies
of the Gregorian calendar, which was created in 1582 to keep time on Earth in
line with the planet's orbit. But Lara Leff, a Bloomingdale's buyer, who will
celebrate her "eighth birthday," said there have been some good
birthday parties despite not having many of them.
"I turned 5 years old while attending Syracuse University
As for how leaplings can best celebrate this particular Feb. 29, Griffin
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