The Strangest Birthday

February 29th was missing from the calendar this year, which was expected; however, I did not take into account a few other factors that affected the perception of my birthday. Turning 21 in a country where 18 is the legal drinking age is rather anticlimactic, but I don't really mind. I had a relatively unconventional birthday and it's probably best that way. Jackie baked cupcakes and the girls from Denmark sang me the best birthday song in Danish! I'll have to find a recording of it somewhere or wait for them to sing it again. It's not just "Happy Birthday" translated into Danish, it's a fun song where they play different imaginary instruments for you.

The third issue with my birthday is that I was, at the time, fifteen hours ahead of my place of birth, so essentially a day ahead. On February 28th in New Jersey, it was March 1st here, and on March 1st in New Jersey, it was March 2nd here. Essentially, I received birthday wishes on three days this year. I'm not exactly complaining, but it is rather odd. Also, birthday wishes on the years where the 29th does not exist are innately strange so I also received three days of "Wait, When do you celebrate your birthday?" The New Jersey DMV has led me to believe that I should celebrate my birthday on March 1st.

Beth Stivison offered a much better solution to my birthday crisis and I am forever grateful because I would not have thought to do this on my own:

I have an idea! Ok. We get a copy of the 1988 nautical almanac, find the declination of the sun at the time you were born on the 29th 1988, and then every year look up in the current year's nautical almanac, what day or time that declination happens and that would tell you your real birthday/time for that year. How about that? Because birthdays are really just about when the earth is back to where it was when you were born right? And even though the day doesn't happen every year, the place in the solar system must! Right?

Ok, so I just looked up the sun's declination for the 29th of february 1988 at midnight (corrected to NJ time from GMT) the declination of the sun was 7 degrees, 52.1 minutes south of the equator. At midnight at the end of the day of February 29th 1988 the sun was 7 degrees 29.4 minutes south of the equator. This year, that span of positions was reached at 2 in the morning on the 28th until 2 in the morning on the 1st! There you go. Next year (so you can be ready) the span starts 8 am on the 28th through to 8 am on the 1st. Now you know. It makes sense that it jumps six hours every year right? Because then after 4 years, it get's its own day again! How about that huh?

Thank you, Beth! Now I have an answer for next year!