Okay, so today I’m gonna share something super basic but kinda interesting that I was messing around with the other day: figuring out how many Sundays there are in a year. Sounds dumb, right? But stick with me.
It all started when I was planning my vacation time for the year. I wanted to make sure I was maximizing my long weekends, and, well, Sundays are key to that, aren’t they?
First thing I did, like any sane person, was hit up Google. I typed in “how many sundays are in one year”. Google gave me the answer right away, like it always does. But I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to actually know why.
So, I started breaking it down. A year has 365 days, right? (Except for leap years, but we’ll get to that later). And there are 7 days in a week. So, the basic math is 365 divided by 7.
I whipped out my calculator (yes, I used a calculator, sue me!). 365 / 7 = 52.142857… Okay, so there are definitely 52 full weeks in a year. That means there’s at least 52 Sundays. That ‘.142857…’ part is what got me thinking. What does that extra bit mean?
That leftover means there’s one extra day (365 mod 7 = 1) besides the 52 full weeks! So, depending on what day the year starts on, that extra day will land on a specific day. If January 1st is a Monday, then the year has 52 Sundays. But what if January 1st is a Sunday?
I grabbed a calendar. I looked at a bunch of non-leap years and saw a pattern. If January 1st falls on a Sunday, then, BAM!, you get 53 Sundays in that year. All the other days of the week only show up 52 times. That one extra day becomes an extra Sunday.
Leap years! I almost forgot about those pesky leap years. Leap years have 366 days. So, 366 / 7 = 52.285714… That means there are two extra days left over. So, if a leap year starts on a Saturday or a Sunday, then you’ll get 53 Sundays that year!
To summarize it:
- A normal year has 365 days. Usually 52 Sundays. If January 1st is a Sunday, there are 53.
- A leap year has 366 days. If it starts on Saturday or Sunday, there are 53 Sundays.
I know, it’s simple. But it was fun to actually figure it out instead of just taking Google’s word for it.
Practical application?
Well, not much. But it’s a fun fact to pull out at parties. And it helped me plan my vacation, kinda. Also, it’s just good to know how things work, right?
Anyway, that’s it. My deep dive into Sundays. Let me know if you have any other super-important questions you need answered!
