Learn about the Leap Year with Munch

Did you know that February 2012 has 29 days instead of 28? When this happens it is called a Leap Year. Munch wanted to learn more about Leap Years so has spent some time finding some interesting facts for a class project. You can read this information below. Why don't you share it with your family and friends?

• A Leap Year happens every four years - the last one was in 2008.

• The next Leap Year will be in 2016.

• It always takes place on the 29th February.

• The 29th February is only on the calendar in a Leap Year.

• A normal year has 365 days, a Leap Year has 366 days.

• Leap Years go back as far as 45bc. when Julius Caesar introduced the basic calendar.

• The time it takes the Earth to orbit around the sun is called a tropical year. This takes around 365.24 days so if every year was 365 days long the seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn) would move over time.

• We have a leap year is to keep the dates on the calendar with the right seasons of the year. If we didn't, then over time the months would flip round so that in the UK we would have summer in January and winter in June.

• On the 29th February it is traditional for women to ask men to marry them.

• If someone is born on the 29th February they will usually celebrate their birthday on the 1st March (unless it is a Leap Year).

Do you like learning more about Munch? There is a new poem for you to enjoy on the About Munch page. Let us know what you think about it.