“I like Yo-Kai Watch and Pokemon pretty much the same. Can I tell you why?”
A large circle medallion dangles on a chain around seven-year-old Perry Lumbao’s neck as he leans forward in his chair to explain why he slightly prefers Yo-Kai Watch (a TV show and video game) over Pokemon because it has ghosts.
The necklace features an Angry Birds version of the Star Wars character Yoda, and when asked about it Perry acknowledges he used to like Star Wars. A long time ago.
“When I was little I did. I liked many things when I was little,” he explains.
“Little” or younger is a relative term for Perry. The Grade 2 student will be celebrating his eighth birthday tomorrow: Leap Day. Although eight years have passed since he was born in 2008 at Lions Gate Hospital, this is only the second time Perry’s actual birthday has been on the calendar.
Leap Day is an extra day added to the calendar to correct for the fact that the Earth doesn’t orbit around the sun in exactly 365 days. There are some decimal places involved in the actual number used to determine a calendar year, and in order to compensate for that, February (which usually has 28 days) gains an extra day every four years.
So while people born on Feb. 29 celebrate being one year older each time 365 days pass, their actual birthdate isn’t on the calendar most of the time.
“It’s just a funny accident I guess that he was born on Feb. 29,” says Perry’s mom Angela Gonzalez. She explains that when Perry was born, she had started to feel contractions on Feb. 27. At the time, her dad joked about her son being born on a Leap Day, and then it happened. The family thought it was pretty funny, and still sometimes joke with Perry that he’s only turning two this year.
“He hates that,” says Angela, noting it certainly wasn’t planned for him to be born on a Leap Day, it wasn’t like she had a choice. “He (once) said to me, ‘Why did you have to give birth to me on Leap Day? And I told him, ‘It’s not easy giving birth you know.’”
His mom explains that Perry first realized his birthday was different in kindergarten when he noticed it wasn’t on the class calendar. Perry says he got “super angry” because “I thought everyone else had a birthday except me.”
These days, though, Perry takes it in stride and doesn’t mind if friends joke about it.
Usually he celebrates his birthday on the weekend closest to Feb. 29, and shares a party with his younger sister, whose birthday is on March 4. But this year Perry will get two parties, one with friends and one with family, all to himself because his official birthdate is on the calendar. Now that he’s older and understands why he has a unique birthday, Perry agrees it’s pretty neat. “It’s good because it’s a special day,” he says.
This year will also feel more special to Elizabeth Pratt, whose son Michael was also born on Feb. 29. He is turning 16 this year, and also four.
“It’s kind of weird because they don’t have a birthday essentially,” says Elizabeth. “Sometimes I think he wishes he had a real birthdate every year.”
Because Michael was breech in the womb, Elizabeth’s labour had to be induced. When her obstetrician explained this to her at the time, she noted that her next on-call day was Feb. 29, and asked Elizabeth if she would mind the baby being born on a Leap Day. Elizabeth said no. “I thought it was kind of cool,” she notes.
Michael was born at Lions Gate Hospital just before 10:30 p.m. He was 10 pounds and four ounces. Now in Grade 10, Michael says he doesn’t much think about his Leap Day birthday, and usually celebrates on Feb. 28, but admits it’s kind of unique.
“I’ve been technically three for the past three years. I guess I’ll be four for the next four years, so that’s different,” he says. “It’s a good ice breaker that’s for sure.”
He says he’ll probably appreciate it more when he’s 64 turning 16.
“It does feel more real,” says Elizabeth of celebrating her son’s birthday on the actual date of his birth.
This year Michael will celebrate his Leap Day birthday by going for his learner’s permit. His two older siblings had to wait until they were 17 to get their learner’s permit, but Elizabeth wanted to do something special for her son’s official 16th birthday.
“I just think it’s nice for them to be remembered,” she says.
