For those of you who do not know, I will share what I learned about Leap Year. Nearly every four years is a leap year which has 366 days, as opposed to a common year, which has 365 in the Gregorian Calendar.

Leap years have 366 days, not 365. Thus, the next one will be on Monday. Last leap day was Feb. 29, 2012.

Leap years are reportedly needed to keep our modern day Gregorian calendar in alignment with the earth’s revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242189 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds – to circle once around the sun. This is called a tropical year, and is measured from the March equinox.

However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn’t add a leap day on Feb. 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by around 24 days!

The leap day is an extra, or intercalary, day and we add it to the shortest month of the year, February.

In the Gregorian calendar three criteria must be taken into account to identify leap years:

• The year can be evenly divided by 4;

• If the year can be evenly divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless;

• The year is also evenly divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year. This means that in the Gregorian calendar, the years 2000 and 2400 are leap years, while 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years.

The year 2000 was somewhat special as it was the first instance when the third criterion was used in most parts of the world since the transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar.

Roman general Julius Caesar introduced the first leap years more than 2000 years ago. But the Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by four would be a leap year. This formula produced way too many leap years, but was not corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar more than 1500 years later.

Now you know!

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Don’t forget:

• Ansonia Volunteer Fire Department’s fireman’s dance is set for March 5, beginning at 7 p.m. at Eldora Ballroom. Karma’s Pawn is providing the music.

• The Ansonia American Legion has begun having fish fries through Lenten on Fridays. They are set for March 11, 18 and 25. Served during Lent will be the fish and French fries. The regular all-you-can-eat fish fries are set for March 4, April 1 and May 6. Steak fries at the Legion continue March 12 and April 16 from 5 to 8 p.m.

• The Treaty City Seniors Dances will continue every Monday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge on East Third Street in Greenville. Tom Everhart will entertain with his rock and roll music of the past. There will be food to purchase, soft drinks only, door prizes and a 50/50 drawing.

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Happy birthday:

• Today to Rick Hittle of Arcanum (correction).

• March 3 to Glenna Howard, Corinne Brown Deaton, Eric Wagner, Jean Derr, Rick Jones, Joan Klein, John McRoberts and Marvin Fourman.

• March 4 to Debbie Kunk, Jeff Goines, Sheena Yeomans and Shaun Thornhill.

• March 5 to Luke Moore, Gail Bankson, Sheila Reed, Betsy Kemp, Angie Millhouse, Sheila Reed, Ralph Beam, Bryan Birt, Ronda Riegle Vance, Don Shilt, Isabelle long, Tracy Holden Harshman, Sharon Buchy and Luke Moore.

• March 6 to Pastor Carroll Pahl, Rick Elliott, Carrie Hall, Linda Norton-Temple, Linda Landis-Matte, Diane Bickel, Sandy Riffell Easterling, Carrie Hall, Stacie Lawrence Kammer and Steve Spahr.

• March 7 to Delores Sleppy, George Young, Kelli Nicodemus, Holly Riffell Stocker, Deanna Young, Christina Nestor and Jerry Blinn.

• March 8 to Betty Kuhn (90), Laura Everman, Morgan Anderson, Aaron Guthrie, Bradin Daniels, Nicole Williams and Tim Hiestand.

• March 9 to Lyle Cochran (60), Julie Baldwin-Hall, Sharie Hammontree, Jan Riegle Turner, Richard Birt, Phyllis Oliver, Glenna Batten, Steve Brunk and Chris Barnhardt.

Happy anniversary to: The Rev. Hershel and Barbara Fee on March 4; Tom and Darlene Hill (50) on March 5; Nevin and Donna Pauline (Riffell) Elleman on March 7; and Shirley and Otis Mead on March 9.

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Don’t forget to pray for: Stacy Dorko, Mary Marshall, Jenson Fullerton, Rusty Hardwick, Carmen Sanders, Michael Allen Clark, Elmer Long, Anthony Joyner, Shirley Mead, Maurice Longfellow, Teresa Ketring, Dave Sloan, Harry Moody, Jim Moody, Maxine Weimer, Linda Subler, Jerrod Pratt, Tim Ridenour, Shelly Hoffman, Kathy Hiestand, Keith Howard, Betty Grimes, Kathy Magoto, Dean Brewer, Lisa Hall, Dick Neff, Tammy Shapiro, Ken Martin, David Magoto, Darrell Theurer, Charles LaFuze, Phil Clark, Sonny Hunt, Jim Marker, Roger McEowen, Terry Longfellow, Bill Drew, Don and Linda Myers, Nina McDaniel, Rusty Wilson, D’Arleen Waymire, Lee and Bea Moody (our parents), Linda Johnston, Ron Kreitzer, Pappy Harshman, Harold Rismiller, Rick Jones, Delores Duncan, Ansonia Police Chief Frank Shapiro, Randy Heck, John Klipstine, Elsie Svajda, Dave Sherman, Sue Chitty, Phil Chilcoat, Christine Pipenger, Paul Barton, Terry Ungericht, Gracyn Blackburn, Lowell Arnold, Robert Codling, Kohen Thwaits, Deanna Jones, William DeBord, Dave Starline, Bob Hiestand Jr.

Also, Kathy and Tom Hamilton, Joanne Sharp, Larry Bemis, Ivan Miller, Cindy Elson, Cary Van De Grift, Dina Dancer Morris, Teresa Mayo Amspaugh, Jim Crotcher, Tina Kiser Deaton, Alvera Schmitz, Vicky Henderson, Julia Frey, Tonia Thompson, Fred Monnin, Bob Coppock, Stephen “Brownie” Brown, Nate Epperson, Brad Pipenger, Faye Schlecty, Michelle Sparks Reed, Sheila Reed, Bill Beasley, Steve Cunningham, Kody Ketring, Bob and Sandy Finkbine, Kevin Dickey, Joe Martin, Tracy Bailey, Brenda Grimes, Margaret “Peg” Bundy, Kevin Hemmerich, Penny Starns, Tim Heck, Vanna (Hannam) Abbott, Suzy Heck Schilling, Addie Henderson, Barb Morrow Zimmerman, Samantha Smith, Shannon Peters Hall, Todd Walls, Ron Kramer, Melissa “Missy” Helmer, Susie Gress of Nebraska, Dana Holzapfel, Kara Didier, Carla Welch, Bill Schuette and to all those others who suffer from the many debilitating diseases.

And, God bless all of our military people serving and protecting this nation.

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Jamie and I send our condolences to the families of Arline Light, Fern Adams, Deb Rush, Melissa Thornhill and Kelly Bruns.

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Think about it: “You never look good trying to make someone else look bad.” — Unknown