Happy Birthday, Leap Day Birthday Babies!
”Anyone can be born IN a Leap Year.
We were born ON Leap Day.
There's a big difference there!”
http://www.leapyearday.com/
These folks celebrate two birthdays, their Leap Day Birthday every four years, and their year of birth is celebrated on either February 28th, March 1st, or all week long!
Bennett Joyce is the son of Bunky and Lyn Joyce , and attends Thomas Hart Academy in Mrs. Jenner’s Second Grade Class. He will be turning 8 years old, but will celebrate his 2nd Leap Day birthday. “It’s cool having my real birthday this year,” says Bennett, “I get to have my birthday party on the real day this year.”
His mom, Lyn, remembers walking the halls of McLeod Hospital in labor, and her husband telling her, “It’s just 11 o’clock, honey, if you just hang on we can have a Leap Day baby!” And nearly two hours later, she did just that. Bennett was born at 12:55 a.m., the first of six Leap Day Babies born at McLeod Regional Hospital on February 29, 2000. His big sister, Brittany, says she “loves to tease him about his birthday… but, I really do love him!” The Build-A-Bear company surprised him with a gift certificate to make a free bear to celebrate his Real Birthday, something that he will certainly enjoy at his football theme party at his grandparents house… it sure is great having your birthday actually on the calendar this year, Bennett!
Another Hartsville resident, Patrick “Pat” Irvin, really got a kick out of meeting young Bennett Joyce at the Memorial Library this week. Neither one had ever met anyone that shared their birthday; after all, Pat is only turning 15, and Bennett is turning 2- this Leap Day Birthday talk is really fun!
Pat Irvin was born on February 29, 1948, and remembers that when he was a kid, other kids used to tease him for not having his birthday on the calendar every year. “I felt like the red-headed step child,” he laughs; “My mother always celebrated my non-Leap Year birthday on March 1st, but my February the 29th birthdays always seemed bigger.” He nodded towards Bennett, who bobbed his head in agreement.
Over the phone prior to the library interview, Pat shared that one of the most neat things about having a Leap Day birthday is that most presidential elections are held that year; he has vivid memories of the presidents getting elected on his “special birthday year”, such as Eisenhower when he was 4, and then again re-elected when he was 8; John F. Kennedy in 1960 when Pat turned 12; and Lyndon Johnson in 1964 when Pat turned 16, and so on.
The Leap Year Day 1968, however, was the most memorable, as Pat turned 20 in the jungles of Vietnam. “I was in the Air Force fighting in the Vietnam War, and I was just happy to be alive to see another Leap Year birthday. You know, life goes by a little fast after age 20!” Pat makes his home here with his wife, Sandie, and will be celebrating his 15th “real birthday” this Friday.
Photo by Fentress Smith
Patricia Smith born in the Mount Claire Community of Darlington on February 29, 1952 will be celebrating her 14th Leap Day Birthday today! Her daughter, Fentress Smith, an Internal Auditor for Sonoco, was delighted to share her mother’s special birthday after reading the “call for birthdays” on HV TD. “My brother and I love to tease my mother for not having a “real” birthday; we have a lot of fun when it is actually her real day!” Fentress, her brother (currently a Helicopter Mechanic on contract in Iraq) and her grandchild (an Honor Roll student at St. John's Elementary), are all glad that Patricia has a real birthday this year, not a “fake” one as they like to tease her.
Patricia is one of 15 children, and was always told by her mother that her birthday was special; in their family, her birthday was celebrated on February 28th on non-Leap Day years, since “wasn’t a March baby”, recalls Patricia. “I remember as a child that I had a special cousin that used to tease me that I was a baby since I only had a birthday every four years; back then, I wanted to be older, and so I didn’t like that teasing. Now that I am getting older, I want him to tell me that!” Patricia thanks God that she is celebrating yet another four years since her last real birthday, and her husband of 39 years adds that she’ll be looking for birthday gifts from him on both the 28th and the 29th for years to come!
photo from the Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center Website
Rumor has it that Hartsville has yet another Leap Year Baby in town, Dr. James O. Morphis, and that his office celebrated his “Sweet 16” birthday party for him a few years ago… no counting the years, now, being a Leap Day baby means that you get to stay younger than the rest of us!
Photo by Cheryl Smith, with Fentress Smith's camera! :)
Dana Banister of Sonoco will be celebrating her 9th Leap Day birthday this Friday. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 29, 1972 and was only one of two babies born that day in that hospital. Her father’s birthday is on February 27th, so on non-Leap Year birthdays they shared their birthdays… but now that Dana is a “grown-up”, if Dad is not in town, she chooses to celebrate her birthday on the closest Friday! “I figured, since I get to choose, I may as well have a Friday!”
Dana was never teased by her siblings or friends for her unusual birthday, in fact, they thought it was really neat. Her favorite memory was when she turned 16 years of age… and her 4th Leap Day Birthday… she and her father got dressed up for a very formal birthday dinner together. Dana was raised in Charleston, SC, got married in Vegas, lived here for a while, moved to Florence, and plans to move back to here in a few years- “I like to move!”, she chuckles. She has never met another person born on her special birthday, and really loves the fact that she has such an unusual birth date. Dana has been with Sonoco for a year and a half and loves it. Apparently being a Leap Day baby makes for a happy person, as Dana is truly a delightful person like the other “Leap-lings” I interviewed for this story!
A HartsvilleToday reader, Tim Spears, just sent in his photo and I'll share what he has to say about being a Leap Year Baby:
Tim Spears"Yup, born on leap year in 1968.. :) Born in East Brewton Alabama. I've only met one other person in my life born on leap year. It's cool because no one ever forgets your birthday, however these days I'd like for them too. I can remember being 4 for the longest time. (in leap years that is). There used to be a party held every year in Pensacola Florida, which I never got to attend. Ever hear of any elsewhere?"
Happy Birthday, Leap Day Babies~!
Want to know more?
The composer Gioacchino Rossini (The William Tell Overture), the astronaut Jack Lousma, the football player Fran Tarkenton and the band leader Jimmy Dorsey, entertainer Dinah Shore, American Idol judge Randy Jackson and rapper JaRule share this day.
Why do we have Leap Year?
The Gregorian calendar, which now serves as the standard calendar for civil use throughout the world, has both common years and leap years. A common year has 365 days and a leap year 366 days, with the extra, or intercalary, day designated as February 29. A leap year occurs every four years to help synchronize the calendar year with the solar year, or the length of time it takes the earth to complete its orbit about the sun, which is about 365¼ days.
The length of the solar year, however, is slightly less than 365¼ days—by about 11 minutes. To compensate for this discrepancy, the leap year is omitted three times every four hundred years.
In other words, a century year cannot be a leap year unless it is divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years.
What are your chances of being born on leap day?
About 1 in 1500.
Visit these fun websites to learn more about this very special day!
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