Many Leap at Chance to Mark Rare Day
You might not have noticed, but Tuesday was the rare among the rare: a leap day that occurs only once in 400 years.
And it was exciting enough to a local schoolteacher that she held a bash Tuesday that drew more than 100 current and former students to Santiago Middle School in Orange.
The statistical rarity of a leap year at the turn of the century caught the attention of science teacher Sue Baden, 49, of Long Beach, who started planning this party 27 years ago, when she first became a teacher.
So why was this year’s leap day--Feb. 29--so special?
In the Gregorian calendar, a leap year occurs in all years divisible by four--with an exception. According to the conventions of the calendar, there is no leap year for years ending in 00 except when they are divisible by 400. Therefore, the years 1700, 1800 and 1900 went without a leap day. The last “00†leap year was in 1600.
During her teaching career in the Orange Unified School District, Baden taught at Peralta Middle School, El Modena High School, coached basketball at Canyon High School and has been at Santiago since 1985.
“I am really overwhelmed by the response,†said Baden of the alumni who showed up for the party. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.â€
Five large boards were set up covered with class and candid photos and a slide show of more photos was on display for Baden’s students to peruse.
The glitch in the calendar happens because a year is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds. To compensate, an extra day was added to February almost every four years to synchronize the seasons and equalize the years.
Beyond Baden’s party, others in the county found reason to celebrate Tuesday.
Lizette Ibarra gave birth to a “leap baby†at UCI Medical Center, the only baby born at the hospital by late afternoon.
Ibarra, 25, said her baby was originally due Feb. 14 and delivery was induced Monday. Still, baby Melanie, Ibarra’s first, took so long to be born--22 hours--that she didn’t arrive until 5 a.m. Feb 29.
“She was lucky to be born on this day, because such children are so rare,†said Ibarra, a Santa Ana resident. “I believe this is--how shall I say--something of a good vibe.â€
Ibarra said she and her husband plan to celebrate their daughter’s birthday next year a day early--so Melanie would still have a February birthday--to overcome the tricky birthday-party question.
But the anniversary dilemma didn’t bother newlyweds; there was actually a slight increase in the number of marriage licenses Tuesday, according to the office of the Orange County clerk recorder.
By late afternoon, 50 marriage licenses had been issued and 21 ceremonies performed at the courthouse, according to Emily Gonzalez, assistant supervisor, who said that was up from the previous week.
“We did have calls asking for a license specifically from leap day,†Gonzalez said. “I asked one person why and he said that it will be easy to remember.â€
That’s exactly why Cris Eras, 37, chose leap day for her nuptials eight years ago.
“We did it so that my husband would never forget our anniversary,†said Eras, who works as a directory assistance operator for Pacific Bell in Anaheim. “He was the first one to say, ‘Happy anniversary’ this morning.â€
And for the second time in their marriage, it officially was.
Staff writer Agustin Gurza contributed to this report.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
