What it is like to be a leap year baby

Normally, the chance of being born on any given day is 1 in 365. But if you were born on February 29th, the chances are four times that, plus an extra day. That comes out to 1 in 1,461. So only 0.07 per cent of the world’s population shares a birthday with leap year babies — assuming birthdays are uniformly distributed throughout the year.

How do those who find themselves with this oddity, celebrate their birthday anniversaries?

Are they patient enough to wait for four years to elapse? Or, do they fix days to celebrate yearly? Do their documents come with legal complications? And, do everyone make a joke of them being a quarter of what their real ages is?

The Saturday Magazine caught up with four leap year babies to understand.

Keillah Barasa, pharmacist, turned 28 on February 29.

This is the seventh time I am celebrating my actual birthday. I am excited. That the wait is finally over is overwhelming and, I just cannot keep calm. It is thrilling because finally, I am celebrating my ‘real’ birthday.

In other non-leap years, I only wake up to a few texts from my cheeky friends reminding me of how fake my birthday is. The feel of having a real birthday is fascinating. The intrigue of it is in the rarity of finding individuals whom we share birthdays. I feel lucky that I am a leap year baby.

Up until 2005, when I got my birth certificate for the first time, I had never known the exact date I was born. And so, I had never been so keen to know that I was born on February 29. I was in class eight then, registering for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. I always mention how unique I am.

Again, by the virtue of growing up in the countryside, birthdays were never a big deal when I was young. There were no celebrations nor a hint of delight in them. Occasionally, you would be reminded that you’re growing older. Celebrating my real birthday, therefore, is an opportunity to replenish my taste of the event.

LEAPING

I have since developed an interest to learn more on leap years. Sometimes, I voluntarily educate people on what it is to be a leapling.

Other times, I tend to look out for individuals whom we share birthdays with. I have grown a penchant for wanting to know how other leap year babies feel about themselves given the near zero probability of being one. I thought given that this is the era of social media, it would be easy to get similar people.

To my surprise, I only got one person who happens to be a mother to a leapling.

There is always the pressure to have a grand birthday celebration to mark my actual birthday. My friends announce to me as early as the New Year that “finally we are having a real birthday celebration”. Most people are always curious to know when I celebrate my birthdays in non-leap years. I tell them on the last day of February.

Today, of course, I am planning to take a few of my friends and family out.

Fatma Banin, nurse, turned 24,

In our family of four, I am the only one who doesn’t have yearly birthday bashes. Sometimes, it’s organised on March 1st. The oddity of my birthdate initially troubled me. But mum thought I was too young to understand. Whenever I enquired, all she did was to tell me of how special of a baby that I am.

With the craze of birthday anniversaries being marked on regular days even for my classmates in primary school, I so longed to understand the mystery in my birthday. So, when I celebrated my 12th birthday, she finally told me that I am a leap year baby.

I was thrilled. And felt confused about the news. Then, I became curious to understand. I really wanted to find out what it is and, whatever it takes to be a leapling. I took to the internet. I googled the web to understand everything about leapers. I wanted to satiate my curiosity.

Since then, the value I have attached to February 29 is monolithic. Regardless of whether it takes long to happen, I am always patient enough to wait.

FASCINATED

I am however never that fascinated with birthday markings as my actual birthday takes long to happen. I also appreciated mum’s sense to gauge my maturity as to knowing when to break the news to me. I think I would have struggled to understand the concept of being a leapling.

Everyone makes fun of my birthdays. My dad, particularly, is notorious. He says I’m five years old, having celebrated only five of my legit birthday anniversary.

In non-leap years, I am never bothered with birthdays. Family and friends, I know, are really waiting for me to hold a pompous, majestic birthday celebration party.

Yes. I honestly would love to hold one but, don’t you think it’s even better if they sponsored my vacation? Wouldn’t it be great?

Boniface Ong’era Masese, high school teacher, turned 28

Patiently, yet anxiously, I waited for this date to happen. I am so excited that it’s finally here. But, I think I have lost taste for birthday celebrations. I make the day exceptional by celebrating the feats I have garnered in life.

It is always a great pleasure reminiscing the heights I have scaled and a reminder to self that I have just completed a cycle of four-whole years.

That it takes long to happen is, in itself, not a big deal. Were it not for Facebook notifications, I would hardly remember the date. In fact, my friends joke about my age and I take no offense.

Having grown up in a rural setting, birthdays were no big deal. The very first thing I checked when I got my birth certificate was my date of birth. It didn’t mean much to me.

I still don't attach much credence to the date. Except that when I applied for my identification card, it took pretty long to be processed.

Today, as I mark this day, I only have one wish. To my fiancée – Turah Mokeira, will you marry me?

Sheillah Gitiha, economics and mathematics student at Kabarak University, turned 20

I am a proud February baby and today, I am glad that I am turning 20. Or, maybe five. Depending on the lens you chose to look at my age from.

As a child, my mum fixed March 1st as the date I would celebrate my birthday in non-leap years.

I am my mum's special baby. I was in class three in 2008 when she visited me in school with goodies to mark my eighth birthday. That is when she explained to me that I am a leaper.

It’s then inspired me to learn about zodiac signs. I have since learnt that the famous 'Superman' is also a leaper. That in the ratio 1 to 1461, I am one. The rarity is amazing and humbling in epic proportions.

It is strange yet gratifying that this year, I have two days to celebrate my birthday. I feel very lucky. Having a birthday on this day is a reserve for a few.

I love to live a low-key life so I will not be organising a pompous celebration. I still enjoy having birthday anniversaries. The verve, the party, the celebration, the amazing messages in the birthday cards, are what I long for on this day.

Interesting facts about the leap year

• A leap year is also known as intercalary year or bissextile year. It is a calendar year that contains an additional day which is February 29. It is usually referred to us a leap day.
• Leap days were included in the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century to carter for sync in the earth’s rotation around the sun, which is believed to take more than 365 days.
• Leap years come once in four years. The last was 2016 and after today, the next will be in 2024.
• The primary characteristic of a leap year is, the extra days occur in each year which is an integer multiple by four. Except for years evenly divisible by 100. The years divisible by 100 are not leap years unless the years are also evenly divisible by 400.
• How the day came about: The earth’s period of orbital revolution around the sun is believed to take six hours longer than the whole 365 days. The extra six hours make up a whole extra day after every four years. So, the extra day, is added to the calendar as a leap day.
• Individual born on this day are called leaplings, leapers or leap year babies.
• In different countries, there are specified dates that are legally accepted as their birthdays as well as for use in official documents.
• In Kenya, there is no specified dates.
• In China, the civil code stipulated February 28 as a legally accepted birthday for leaplings.
• Hong Kong considers March 1st as the legal birthday of a leapling.
• The chances of an individual being a leapling are one to 1461.