Leap year 2024: Why we have 29 days in February (almost) every four years
2024 is nearly here and there are some big things ahead for Louisville — the 150th Kentucky Derby, the PGA Championship and the "Ali" musical set to premiere in the fall.
Here is another thing to keep in mind as you fill out your calendar, any holiday after Feb. 28 will come one day later because 2024 is a leap year.
If you celebrate Easter, you will also want to make note of its 2024 date — it falls nine days earlier than it did in 2023.
One extra day in February
There are 366 days in 2024, not the usual 365. Adding Feb. 29 to the calendar is necessary because in 2024, it will take Earth a quarter of a day longer to complete one rotation around the sun.
If leap years did not exist, the day each season would start would have to change every so often, meaning summer would eventually begin when we would usually observe winter, according to the National Air and Space Museum.
Leap years do not occur every four years. Years divisible by 100 are skipped unless they are also divisible by 400. So while 2000 was a leap year, 2100 would not be.
Easter to come earlier
March 31 is the date in which Easter will be observed in 2024. The Christian holiday traditionally occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. Though the spring equinox can range by a day or two, the Catholic Church recognizes it on March 21 every year. The next full moon would be March 25.
Easter falls as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. The next three Easters after 2024 would fall on April 20, April 5 and March 28.
A holiday list for 2024
Monday, Jan. 1: New Year's Day
Monday, Jan. 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Wednesday, Feb. 14: Valentine's Day
Monday: Feb. 19: Presidents' Day
Thursday, Feb. 29: Leap day
Sunday, March 17: St. Patrick's Day
Sunday, March 31: Easter Sunday
Monday, April 1: Easter Monday (in observance of federal holiday)
Monday, April 15: Tax Day
Sunday, May 5: Cinco de Mayo
Sunday, May 12: Mother's Day
Monday, May 27: Memorial Day
Friday, June 14: Flag Day
Sunday, June 16: Father's Day
Wednesday, June 19: Juneteenth
Thursday: July 4: Independence Day
Monday, Sept. 2: Labor Day
Monday, Oct. 14: Columbus Day
Thursday, Oct. 31: Halloween
Tuesday, Nov. 5: Election Day
Monday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day
Thursday, Nov. 28: Thanksgiving Day
Tuesday, Dec. 24: Christmas Eve
Wednesday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day
Tuesday, Dec. 31: New Year's Eve
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Leap year 2024: When will Easter, Thanksgiving fall next year?
