Celebratory leap of faith

Some consider it special and others consider it unlucky, but being born on February 29 certainly is unique. While the superstitious celebrate the day with guarded subtlety, the idealists see it as a special day to celebrate with a bang. Our reporters look into how UAE residents born on this unusual day celebrate their birthdays.

Biju Antony, 36, will celebrate his birthday this year - a precious day that comes only every four years. Born on February 29, 1972, a leap year, Antony has grown accustomed to celebrating his birthday on March 1.

"I believe I am lucky to have been born on this day. I think celebrating a birthday every year is OK but celebrating every four years is simply great and I really enjoy it," he said.

"I like celebrating my birthday on March 1 because my father's birthday was on March 4. He has passed away now, and my brother Raju's birthday is on March 5, so in our family it is five days of celebrations!" said Antony.

"Before I got married my mother would give me a great bundle of flowers on my birthday. Now my wife Leeja and my daughter Albina always surprise me with gifts I really value," he said.

Nowadays Antony enjoys a cake and spends time with friends and relatives.

"It's easier for friends and relatives to remember my birthdate. They used to tell me that too," he said.

Despite the few birthdays that he has moved to a different calendar day, Antony said the only real problem with his birthday is his year of birth, which has made him younger by one year and born on a day that does not exist.

"When I enrolled in school they reduced my age by a year and made the year of birth as February 29, 1973, which is not on the calendar! All my valid documents like passport have that date. But I don't feel that gets in the way," he said.

Extra day: Completing one orbit

A leap year is also known as an intercalary year, meaning that the month of February has an extra day (29 instead of 28). It comes about because the calendar year does not fit exactly with the astronomical/solar year. The actual time that the earth takes to complete one orbit of the sun is 365.256 days, meaning that after four years, a whole day accumulates.

If there were exactly 365 days in each year, after 12 years the calendar would be three days out.

Without the extra day added to a leap year, seasons would gradually shift to happen at different times of the year for different places of the world. So, somewhere that once had winter in December, would eventually experience summer.

People born on February 29 are known as 'leapers' and it is traditional for women to ask men to marry them against social norm on this day in some cultures.

THRILLING GAP

Maria Ramos
"Of course I am thrilled. After all I get to celebrate my birthday only once every four years. It may sound childish, but I am planning to have a great celebration that includes four years of good times," said the Spanish-British television producer, a leapling born on February 29.

Zainab Ali Somrani, a mother of two daughters
"I think that it is not an important issue. In fact to me, it is an extra day of school work in the morning and house chores in the afternoon. Those who want to celebrate the birthday annually can do so on February 28 or March 1."

Ishaq Abdullah, a mid-level manager with a UAE telecommunication company
"People should show some compassion for those who were born on the day. Some people may dismiss talk about the February 29 celebrations simply because they do not feel the issues involved. I have a friend who had problems when he wanted to renew his driving licence because the computer did not recognise his birth date."

Have your say
Do you know anybody with an interesting story to tell about their leap year birthday? Has it made a difference to their lives. Share your stories at letter2editor@gulfnews.com