Leap Day 2020: Google Celebrates February 29 with Doodle

Google

Doodle on Saturday celebrated Leap Day, which occurs every four years, keeping

February 29 in view. Saturday’s doodle is jumping for joy on Leap Day.

Leap Day is

an extra day, February 29, added every four years to the calendar.  As leap day or leap year day, is a date added

to most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2016, 2020, and 2024. A leap day

is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth’s revolution

around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in most of the

world. Lunisolar calendars (whose months are based on the phases of the Moon)

instead add a leap or intercalary month

The year

2020 is a leap year. So February will have 29 days instead of the usual 28. A

leap year occurs every four years as the Earth takes 366 days, a day to

complete a revolution around the Sun. In 2020, the leap year is falling on

Saturday.

Leap year was

first introduced over 2000 years back by Roman emperor Julius Caesar after who

the Julian calendar was named after. Leap Day also helps keep calendars in

alignment with the Earth and the sun.

It takes the

Earth approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds to complete

revolving around the Sun. The Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year

and if leap day (February 29) would not have added almost every four years then

each calendar would begin around 6 hours ahead of the Earth completing its

revolution around the Sun.

One of the

most interesting things is that the year when leap year falls is exactly

divisible by 4. Divide the year by 4 and the remainder should be zero. The next

leap year will be in 2024.