Tag Archives: leap year

Last Time ‘Labor Day’ Fell On September 2, As It Does This Year, Was 5 Years Ago (i.e., 2019).

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by Anura Guruge
on August 26, 2023

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Click to ENLARGE. Created by Anura Guruge.

It is always the 1st Monday of September. So, it can fall between September 1 & September 7 — & as my table above shows, it has.

So, September 2 is at the front of the range. But, NOTHING special. All the days are equal.

It last fell on September 2, 5 years ago, i.e., 2019.

6 years gaps are the norm for this kind of fixed-day, yearly holidays — given we have 7 days in a week. But, with Leap Years in the MIX, as is the case this year, it can get reduced to 5. But it was 6 years prior to that.

The 11 year gap between 2002 and 2013 was caused by Leap Years. 7 days in a week & 4 years between leap years.

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Last Time Christmas Fell On A MONDAY, As It Does In 2023 (i.e., This Year), Was 6-Years Ago, In 2017.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 10, 2022

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Click to ENLARGE.
Click to ENLARGE. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain.
Click to ENLARGE and study here. From an old post, but you can clearly see the point.

So, it wasn’t that far back — just 6-years, i.e., 2017.

A 6-year gap between Christmas falling on the same day of the week is fairly common.

The gaps, as you can see from the 2nd diagram above, can be: 5, 6 or 11.

It all depends on how LEAP YEARS intervene. You can also see that from the 2nd diagram. If there is only ONE LEAP year between the years, it is 6 days apart. More than one & actual leap years complicate matters to give us either the 5-year or 11-year gap.

IF you are into calendaring (as I am) you will immediately seize upon that ’11’. 11 is significant. It is 7+4, i.e., the number of days in a week (7) & the number of years between leap years.

Note that we will have a 11-year gap before Christmas again falls on a Sunday.

Merry Christmas.

Last Time ‘Labor Day’ Fell On September 4, As It Does This Year, Was 6 Years Ago (i.e., 2017).

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by Anura Guruge
on August 28, 2023

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Click to ENLARGE. Created by Anura Guruge.

It is always the 1st Monday of September. So, it can fall between September 1 & September 7 — & as my table above shows, it has.

So, September 4 is smack in the middle.

It last fell on September 4, 6 years ago, i.e., 2017.

6 years gaps are the norm for this kind of fixed-day, yearly holidays — given we have 7 days in a week. So, we also had 6 year gaps between 1989 & 1995 as well as 2000 & 2006.

What breaks up these nice, convenient 6 year gaps are LEAP YEARS. Note that 2000 was a leap year. That messed up the sequence. Hence, the 5 year gap between 1995 & 2000.

Then 2010 was a leap year. That messed things up again to give us the 11 year gap between 2006 & 2017. 11 year gaps are also not that common. WHY 11 YEARS? 7 days in a week & 4 years between leap years.

September 4 is a rather special day. It is most famous for being the day that the ICONIC car, THE ‘Edsel‘, was launched in 1957.

September 4 is a rather special day. It is most famous for being the day that the ICONIC car, THE ‘Edsel‘, was launched in 1957.

The mighty, iconic ‘Edsel’. [Base image from ‘Wikipedia’.]

‘Google‘ & ‘Kodak’ were formed on September 4, though a few years apart.

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Last Time Christmas Fell On A Sunday, As It Does In 2022 (i.e., This Year), Was 6-Years Ago, In 2016.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 12, 2022

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Click to ENLARGE.
Click to ENLARGE. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain.
Click to ENLARGE and study here. From an old post, but you can clearly see the point.

So, it wasn’t that far back — just 6-years, i.e., 2016.

A 6-year gap between Christmas falling on the same day of the week is fairly common.

The gaps, as you can see from the 2nd diagram above, can be: 5, 6 or 11.

It all depends on how LEAP YEARS intervene. You can also see that from the 2nd diagram. If there is only ONE LEAP year between the years, it is 6 days apart. More than one & actual leap years complicate matters to give us either the 5-year or 11-year gap.

IF you are into calendaring (as I am) you will immediately seize upon that ’11’. 11 is significant. It is 7+4, i.e., the number of days in a week (7) & the number of years between leap years.

Note that we will have a 11-year gap before Christmas again falls on a Sunday.

Merry Christmas.

Last Time New Year Fell On A Saturday Was 11-Years Ago, In 2011 — Christmas, This Year, Was Also On A Saturday.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 29, 2021

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Click to ENLARGE. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain.
Click to ENLARGE. They ALWAYS fall on the same day of the week! This year: Saturday.
Click to ENLARGE and study here. Here is the link to the original.

Christmas 2021 fell on a Saturday. So, New Year 2022 ALSO HAD to be on a Saturday. No escaping that. A basic truth of mathematics. Can’t mess with that. December has 31 days, so the Christmas & the following New Year are 7 days apart. BINGO. I will confess I did NOT know of this immutable relationship until I was a teenager. A Swiss lady, a family friend, told it to I — matter of fact. I was floored. I had never realized — & I have never forgotten.

So, it was 11 years ago when Christmas last fell on a Saturday. Ditto, New Year. Same factors at play — to be precise the Leap Year in 2016. IF NOT for that Leap Year, New Year 2017 would have been on a Saturday. It wasn’t. Hence, the long gap.

IF you are into calendaring (as I am) you will immediately seize upon that ’11’. 11 is significant. It is 7+4, i.e., the number of days in a week (7) & the number of years between leap years.

Next New Year on a Saturday will be in 6 years — 2028 (as you can see from the top image). The 2024 Leap Year just makes us jump over a Tuesday. Got that.

Happy New Year.

Last Time Christmas Fell On A Saturday Was 11-Years Ago, In 2010.

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by Anura Guruge
on December 12, 2021

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Click to ENLARGE. From an Excel spreadsheet I maintain.
Click to ENLARGE and study here. Here is the link to the original.

If you were having trouble remembering the last time Christmas fell on a Saturday, it is because it was over a decade ago. Yes, the last time was in 2010. So, there has been a 11-year gap.

IF you are into calendaring (as I am) you will immediately seize upon that ’11’. 11 is significant. It is 7+4, i.e., the number of days in a week (7) & the number of years between leap years.

Yes, the 11-year gap was because of a leap year — the leap year in 2016.

If not for the leap year Christmas 2016 would have been on a Saturday — per the 6-year norm (bar leap years). So, that is what happened. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary. Just straight, natural progression of events. There is a 28-year cycle involved here — again, as is to be expected, a factor involving 7 & 4. Calendaring is so intriguing, but also predictable given that we don’t have that many variables.

But, we don’t have to worry about that for now. In 2027, 6-years from now, Christmas will again be on a Saturday.

Merry Christmas.