Leap year starting on Monday facts for kids
A leap year is a special year that has an extra day, February 29th, making it 366 days long instead of the usual 365. This article talks about leap years that happen to start on a Monday.
| Millennium | Century | Year | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Millennium: | 18th century: | 1720 | 1748 | 1776 | |||||||
| 2nd Millennium: | 19th century: | 1816 | 1844 | 1872 | |||||||
| 2nd Millennium: | 20th century: | 1912 | 1940 | 1968 | 1996 | ||||||
| 3rd Millennium: | 21st century: | 2024 | 2052 | 2080 | |||||||
| 3rd Millennium: | 22nd century: | 2120 | 2148 | 2176 | |||||||
Contents
What is a Leap Year?
Our calendar usually has 365 days. But the Earth takes about 365.25 days to go around the Sun. This extra quarter of a day adds up. To keep our calendar in sync with the Earth's orbit, we add an extra day every four years. This extra day is February 29th.
Why Do We Need Leap Years?
Without leap years, our calendar would slowly drift away from the seasons. Imagine celebrating summer holidays in what feels like winter! Adding an extra day helps keep our calendar accurate.
Understanding Calendar Days
Each year starts on a specific day of the week. For example, January 1st, 2023, was a Sunday. January 1st, 2024, was a Monday.
How Days Shift Each Year
A normal year has 365 days. This is 52 weeks and 1 extra day (365 = 52 x 7 + 1). So, if a year starts on a Monday, the next year will start on a Tuesday.
A leap year has 366 days. This is 52 weeks and 2 extra days (366 = 52 x 7 + 2). So, if a leap year starts on a Monday, the next year will start on a Wednesday.
Leap Years Starting on Monday
A leap year starting on a Monday means that January 1st of that year falls on a Monday. Because it's a leap year, it has 366 days. This means the year will end on a Tuesday (December 31st). The next year will then begin on a Wednesday.
When Do These Years Happen?
Leap years happen every four years. However, not every leap year starts on a Monday. The day a year starts depends on the day the previous year started and whether the previous year was a leap year.
Leap years starting on a Monday follow a pattern. They usually occur every 28 years. For example, if 1996 was a leap year starting on a Monday, the next one was 2024.
- The pattern for a specific day of the week to start a leap year repeats every 28 years.
- This is because 28 years is a multiple of 4 (for leap years) and 7 (for days of the week).
Calendar Information
| Common year starting on: | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| Leap year starting on: | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Año bisiesto comenzado en lunes para niños
