Happy birthday to Holbeach, Spalding and Ancaster residents celebrating on leap day
It’s bad enough going to school on your birthday whatever your age but spare a thought for Jake Biggadike who’ll be spending his ‘third’ birthday in the classroom.
Jake is one of around five million people worldwide born on February 29 - leap day and even though he only gets to celebrate on the date he was actually born once every four years the University Academy Holbeach pupil says he doesn’t really mind.
In a non-leap year Jake, who lives with parents Faye and Martin, and siblings Jack, 17, and Chloe, 15, in Holbeach, spreads his birthday celebrations out over two days.
“We spread his cards and presents out over February 28 and March 1 and have family over on both days. We thought when he’s older he can choose which day he wants to celebrate it.
“Although Jake doesn’t mind, I don’t really like it,” says Faye.
Jake added: “It’s funny when people don’t know about leap day birthdays and I explain it to them, it’s fun to have my birthday on this day!”
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This year Jake will have to put celebrating his 12th birthday on hold until the end of the school day.
Faye added: “It does mean he’ll always be the youngest in school, but I think he quite enjoys it, it’s something a little bit different, and we all have a laugh and joke about it.
“We’ve got him a ‘Finally Three’ T-shirt to wear, and last leap year, when he turned two, his uncle bought him some Duplo!
“It’s a bit of a shame though, I’ve been around all the shops but I can never find a card to celebrate our leapling, you think there’d be something as you can get cards for everything else!”
Nic Smart celebrated her fourth birthday like most children her age – with a party in a church hall, jelly and ice-cream and party bags.
Although thanks to her leap day birthday, she was actually 16 at the time!
“When I was younger it was always hard to get my head around it – I don’t know anyone else with a birthday on February 29,” says Nic, who lives in Holbeach and works in food product development at Bakkavor. “When I was 16 I had a proper fourth birthday party. We’ve always laughed and joked about it. My mum always makes me a cake on leap day with my ‘real’ age on.
“When I turn ‘18’ I’ve said I’m going to go out for a proper night on the town, even though I’ll be in my 70s by then!”
In non-leap years Nic celebrates on February 28 rather than waiting until March 1, as she likes to mark her birthday in the month she was born.
“When there’s a leap year I do make more of an effort to celebrate, but this year it’s a Thursday, so I’ll be at work. I’ll probably do something at the weekend with my husband Matt, daughter Lilly and other family,” she adds.
One difficulty Nic has encountered over the years came with online forms requesting her date of birth, as until recently February 29 wasn’t even an option.
“When I applied for my driving licence I couldn’t put my birthday down, I had to say it was the day before, which meant I was out on the road a day early - when I was still 16!”
Spalding gran Angela Mayer-Wilding is looking forward to marking her sweet 16th today, with a day full of surprises.
Angela, a housekeeper for The Granary, at West Deeping, is actually turning 64 but says she doesn’t mind having an unusual, quirky birthday.
“When I was a child my parents always made sure my birthday was celebrated on February 28 – it always had to be February, never the first of March.
“But when I was in my 20s and it wasn’t a leap year, if it fell on a Friday I’d celebrate then, and then go out with my friends on the Saturday night and celebrate again. It was great getting free double drinks!” adds Angela, who has four children and six grandchildren. “My grandchildren say I’m like the Queen as sometimes I have two birthdays – and I’ve caught up with my eldest granddaughter now!”
Angela’s employers threw her a big party at her workplace to mark her 60th but this year she’s not quite sure what’s happening, although her wife Debs has told her she’s not to go to work.
“They’ve all been in cahoots together, so who knows,” laughs Angela. “But I do know I’m having a girls’ lunch with my daughters and daughters-in-law at the weekend, so there’s lots to look forward to.”
Ancaster youngster Flynn McKenna will celebrate his eighth birthday today – or is it second?
Flynn McKenna was born on February 29, 2016, at Lincoln Hospital.
“It really didn’t occur to me at first what day it was,” said mother Samantha.
“Then the newspaper asked to come in and take our photo just 15 minutes after he had arrived.
“He’s since been in a paper every leap year so far.”
Living a transient military life, the McKenna family has journeyed from Lincolnshire to Gibraltar and Buckinghamshire but now has settled in Ancaster after buying their first house.
For his first leap year birthday, Flynn also appeared in a newspaper in Gibraltar, leading the family to suggest it is now a family tradition.
Samantha shared that Flynn enjoys jesting about his age, often claiming to be just two years old on non-leap years.
“He loves to joke and tell everyone he is two.
“Every leap year he gets two cards – one with his actual age and one with his leapling age.”
He plays football for Cranwell and supports Plymouth Argyle FC.
This year, Flynn's eighth birthday marks another milestone as the family settles in Ancaster, embracing a sense of permanence after years of relocation.
Leap day facts
* We have a leap day every four years – when an extra day is added to February – due to the earth’s orbit. It’s a correction to counter the fact that Earth’s orbit isn’t precisely 365 days a year.
* There is an approximate one in 1,461 chance of having a baby on leap day
* Those with a leap day birthday often refer to themselves as leaplings or leapers
* Celebrity leaplings include singer Ja Rule, Pope Paul III (born 1468), composer Rossini and 1940s actress Dinah Shore. Although he’s not a real person, Superman also celebrates his birthday on February 29.
* The town of Anthony in Texas, USA, is the self-proclaimed ‘Leap Year Capital of the World’. Each leap day, it holds a four-day festival and birthday celebration for all leap year babies, with people travelling from across America and abroad to take part in the parades, birthday dinners, and hot air balloon rides.
