Few and far between birthdays: Darci Haydukewich is pictured in the middle wearing green glasses celebrating a past and rare birthday. (Submitted photo/Darci Haydukewich)

By Ian Gustafson

Special Day

P.A. residents celebrate leap year birthdays

Feb 29, 2020 | 11:57 AM

Welcome to the leap year catch-up day Prince Albert. There are 366 days this year and for those who are born on this special occasion, February 29, it’s a rare opportunity.

A few Prince Albert residents are able to celebrate today, and although birthdays aren’t usually newsworthy, these residents only get to celebrate it on their actual birthdate every four years.

Kashia Bird is turning 20-years-old today, although technically she is only having her fifth birthday. In past years, she has celebrated her special day either on Feb. 28, or March 1.

“I like celebrating it on March 1 because it adds that extra day that is supposed to be there,” Bird told paNOW.

She added when her birthday falls on the three non leap year days her mother calls it her ‘party day’ rather than her birthday.

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“I had a zero on my cake until I turned four in regular years and I had a one on my cake when I turned one,” she explained.

Bird said when her birthday does happen on a leap year, she makes sure to get all of her friends together to make it a good one.

People tend to get confused when she explains her birthday only arrives every four years or that she is technically five years old.

“Yeah very confused, and a lot of people ask to see my ID to prove that I’m a leap year [baby],” she said. But she enjoys the uniqueness.

Darcy Haydukewich is also turning 20-years-old today and having been born Feb.29 is notching up her fifth birthday.

She normally celebrates it on Feb. 28 and has never skipped that. On Facebook she had to change her birthday to the 28^th so her friends could wish her a happy birthday every year.

“I usually do have to explain it to people if they don’t know what a leap year is but lots of people are just excited that they know that they get to meet somebody who has a leap year birthday,” Haydukewich said.

For the record, none leap years are known as ‘common years’. So there you are; for the rest of us who weren’t born on Feb.29, we’re a little more ordinary, mathematically anyway. Bird and Haydukewich’s chances of being born on this day were 1 in 1,461.

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With Files from Ron Quaroni

Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12