Leaping Into 2024’s Extra Day
Leap Years are regular reminders that time is what you make of it. Literally. Every four years, right on schedule, the calendar automatically gives us the gift of an extra day. What to do with this timely bonus? First, let’s figure out how we got here.
From my earliest years as a child growing up in an Eastern Orthodox family, I’ve always been aware that more than one calendar exists. Depending on which one you’re using, in fact, the same event can fall on more than one day.
Is Christmas Day on December 25 or January 7? The prevalent calendar for the West and much of the world is the Gregorian calendar, which marks Christmas on December 25. On the earlier Julian calendar that many Eastern Orthodox traditions still observe, it’s January 7.
The current year began January 1 … unless you’re looking forward to February 10 to celebrate Chinese New Year. On the ancient Mayan calendar, the New Year begins July 26, in conjunction with planetary, solar and celestial calculations. And if you’re in Japan this year, keep in mind that you can also refer to the present as Reiwa 6, the sixth year of Emperor Naruhito.
Calendar-making and timekeeping are fascinating expressions of human creativity with all kinds of historical, cultural and geo-political plot twists to untangle.
So if calendars themselves — and this Leap Year catch-up scheme in particular — are products of imaginative minds and strong math, what can we do with the bonus day that 2024 gives us?
As Leap Month officially begins, here’s my starter list of how I’ll spend my bonus day, still very much in flux …
- Learn how to play my daughter’s favorite song by Louis The Child on my saxophone.
- Finish reading at least five of the 47 books I’m one chapter into.
- Make plans to catch a Dodger’s game in a stadium I’ve never been to.
- Listen to at least three podcasts on the best rookie pitchers to draft for fantasy baseball.
- Make a complete dinner from our family cookbook, including a big plate of baklawa.
- Pop a gigantic bowl of popcorn and watch the entire Blacklist.
- Play my kids’ favorite sports with them —skiing, basketball, tennis, weightlifting, cooking … and sleeping.
I can already see that 24 hours may not be enough; Blacklist alone has 218 episodes. But that’s OK. While it’s true that one day doesn’t seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, this year does have 366 days. That’s 8,784 hours and 31,622,400 seconds to make timeless memories.
Go!