February 29 is a special date that happens only every four years! Well, technically, there is a small exception when we do not add an extra day to February every four years.

First, let's look at why we need to add this extra day, or what we call Leap Day. It is all because of how long it takes for the earth to make one revolution around the sun. That of course, is one year. However, that revolution around the sun is not exactly 365 days. It actually takes 365.2422 days.

To make up for that extra 0.2422 day, we add a day to February every four years. If we did not do that, in 100 years, our calendar would be off by 24 days.   

That would word perfectly if the revolution around the sun was 365.25 days, but we cannot just round up from 365.2422. If we just did that, in 100 years, our calendar would be off by 18 hours.

We actually skip Leap Day if Leap Year falls on the start of a century unless that year is divisible by 400. That brings our new yearly average to 365.2425 or almost to 365.2422.   

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