Articles About Leap Year (17)
What Is a Leap Year?
A leap year has 366 days, as opposed to a common year, which has 365. Nearly every four years is a Leap Year, and we add a leap day, an extra day on February 29.
Leap Day February 29
When is the next Leap Year? A Leap Year consists of 366 days – not 365 – where February 29 is added as an extra day at the end of February.
Leap Day Customs
Learn more about Leap Day traditions, superstitions and folklore.
What is a Common Year?
A common year is a calendar year with 365 days and only 28 days in February.
Leap Day Birthdays
When do “leaplings” celebrate their birthdays and when can they legally buy alcohol or get a driver's licence?
Leap Year in Different Calendars
Most western countries use the Gregorian calendar, but some use other calendars. Some calendars even add a leap month instead of a leap day.
Bahá'í Leap Years
How do leap years in the Bahá'í Calendar work?
Chinese Leap Month
The Chinese calendar adds a leap month every three years to keep in line with the Earth's rotation.
The Ethiopian Leap Year
A leap year occurs every 4 years in the Ethiopian calendar when one extra day is added at the end of the year.
Leap Months and Leap Days in the Hindu Calendar
The Hindu calendar frequently adds or omits months or days to keep its lunar and solar time reckoning in sync. The concept differs from the western leap year.
The Persian Leap Year
The Iranian or Persian calendar is one of the most accurate calendar systems ever devised. Find out what makes it so precise.
The Islamic Leap Year
A leap year in the tabular version of the Islamic Hijri calendar occurs 11 times in a 30-year cycle when one day is added to the last month of the year.
The Jewish Leap Year
The Jewish leap year has 13 months and occurs 7 times in a 19-year cycle.
The Buddhist Leap Year
Following the metonic cycle, the Buddhist calendar defines some years as leap years with 13 months. Great leap years have another extra day.
How Accurate Are Calendars?
Our calendar does not accurately reflect the length of a tropical year, the time it takes Earth to complete a full orbit around the Sun. Why is that so and are there other calendars that do a better job?
February 30
February 30 actually existed at least twice in the past, according to historical records.
A Year Is Never 365 Days
A tropical year is the time it takes for the seasons to repeat, approximately 365.242189 days. It is a fraction shorter than the time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun.