According to Wikipedia, February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 (with the exception of century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900) for the Gregorian calendar, which is most widely used in the world today. These are called leap years, and February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year. February 29 is also known as bissextile day or Leap Day.

Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, an extra twenty-four hours have accumulated, so one extra day is added to that calendar to keep the count coordinated with the sun’s apparent position.

Some born on Leap Day consider themselves lucky. If you’re one of them, don’t forget to register for our February Getaway Giveaway contest, which ends today.

We’ll announce February’s winner early next week. So sign up, then put this extra day to good use looking at all the great vacation rental homes we showcase on PickPackGo. It’s not too late to book online now for Spring Break.

Good luck!