According to some astrologers, babies born under the sign of Pisces on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities that reflect their special status, so Grocott's Mail reporter Nandipha Pantsi scoured the city to find some of Grahamstown's leaplings.
According to some astrologers, babies born under the sign of Pisces on February 29 have unusual talents and personalities that reflect their special status, so Grocott's Mail reporter Nandipha Pantsi scoured the city to find some of Grahamstown's leaplings.
It was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the man-made year didn’t always match up. Instead of 365 days, the earth takes an extra 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds to go around the sun each year, and as these hours accumulated over the centuries, it became necessary to occasionally add an extra day to the calendar – giving birth to the leap year and leap days.
Every four years, at the end of February, the extra day is added on and being born on this day means that technically your birthday only comes around once in four years! On Wednesday this week Lingomso Memana was born at Settlers' Hospital at 2.33am, making him the first official local leap year baby to arrive 2012.
His name means “the future” and his looks promising after he weighed in at a healthy 2.92 kilograms. His mother, Khanyisa Memana, couldn’t stop laughing about giving birth to a baby on a day that only comes around once in four years. “I really want him to grow up to be someone special, I just don’t know when he’ll be celebrating his birthday!” she chuckled.
Sister Denise Swanepoel at the hospital said that they were expecting at least five more babies to be delivered the day. Twelve years ago, on the first leap day of the new millennium, Yashin Naidoo came into the world.
He is certainly no ordinary child, and this leap year baby enjoys bending spoons and making objects disappear. This is because he's a magician, and he performs at children's parties and other functions – including the recent opening of the Grahamstown Bicentennial Celebrations.
He is also home-schooled. His mother recalled that by the time he turned three he already enjoyed being wished 'happy birthday' on 28 February and 1 March. And how did he celebrate his third leap year birthday this year?
He spent a few days at the College of Magic in Cape Town, of course. Then there's Zambian-born Callum Skinner, who was also born in 200, but was the only person celebrating his birthday at St Andrew's Preparatory School this past Wednesday.
The young sports fanatic plays rugby, cricket and hockey and was adamant that there is absolutely nothing special about being a leap year baby. “I’m just short with green eyes, otherwise I think I’m pretty average,” he said.
“Maybe when I’m 36, I might try playing Under 9 rugby,” he joked. If you know someone whose birthday was on 29 February, remember to wish them a belated 'happy birthday', because their next one won’t be until 2016.
Leap year facts
• Julius Caesar is said to be the “father of the leap year” since he added February 29th, once every four years, as a leap day in the Julian calendar.
• American presidential elections and the Summer Olympic Games are both held every four years and occur in the leap year.
• Leap day is the day when women are supposedly allowed to propose to men, as social norms on this day don’t apply.
• The chances of having a leap year birthday are 1 in 1 461.
