Since 2024’s leap day is also a Thursday, let’s return to the last leap year, 2020. 

The year 2020 was an unforgettable year for everyone. It was a unique time with COVID-19 about to take over the world, the edgy Trump vs Biden presidential election, and the volatile Black Lives Matter protests throughout the year. 

Let’s look through 2020’s top news in entertainment. The best-performing song of 2020 was “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, and the highest-grossing movie was “Bad Boys For Life,” directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, according to The Numbers.

But what exactly qualifies as a leap year? There are specific rules for a leap year, stated by The Economic Times. “If the year is divisible by 4, it’s a leap year, except for end-of-century years, which must also be divisible by 400. For instance, the year 2000 was a leap year, while 1900 was not”. 

In 2020 Stroudsburg was promoting its outdoor ice skating rink downtown, the annual Stroudfest was held, the Snowmen of Stroudsburg were making their second appearance, and a protest march was held for the killing of George Floyd, eventually, the town and nation went into isolation in hopes of avoiding COVID-19. 

February 29th is a rare birthday. According to The Washington Post, about 5 million people have this birthday, making it a 0.07% chance of being born on a leap date. In Stroudsburg High School, only one student qualifies. 

Jason Pritchard, a sophomore at SHS, celebrates this rare birthday. Born on February 29, 2008, he has technically celebrated only 4 birthdays. 

“It sucks because I don’t technically have a birthday every year, it just isn’t the same. This year is great because my parents go all out and let me do whatever I want every four years when it is my birthday!”, says Pritchard.

According to TimeandDate, you can thank Julius Caesar for this tradition as he started it over 2000 years ago. Start planning for the next Leap Day in 2028.