Leap Year and Marriage Proposal
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As 2008 is a Leap Year, this February has 29 days vs. the usual 28. An ancient tradition, said to go back to 5th century Ireland, stated that women were allowed to propose marriage to men on one given day every four years: February 29th.
The marriage proposal tradition is believed to have been started when St. Bridget complained to Saint Patrick about women having to wait for men to propose. St. Patrick established this one day in February on which women could break the strict rules of courtship.
Supposedly (although disputed), a law was enforced in 1288 by Queen Margaret of Scotland. Fines were issued if a marriage proposal made by a woman on February 29 was refused by a man. Compensation ranged from a kiss to a pound (in English currency) to a silk gown or silk gloves.
In English law, February 29 was ignored and had no legal status; therefore traditions were reasoned to have no status on that day. Since February 29 existed to fix a problem with the calendar, it was decided that this day could also be used to fix the unjust custom of women being banned from marriage proposal.
This Leap Year tradition spread around the world and evolved to include balls and dances. Some were held in order to allow women to ask men to dance and some were specifically designated for women to propose marriage.
Leap Day and its traditions are often compared to those of Sadie Hawkins Day in the U.S. but while the customs are the same-a day which allows for women to propose marriage-Sadie Hawkins day actually takes place in November.
Another interesting point regarding marriage and Leap Year: In Greek tradition, it is believed that getting married in a Leap Year is bad luck. One in five engaged couples in Greece is said to avoid planning their wedding during a Leap Year.
The explanation as to why Leap Year exists, dates back to the ancient Egyptians, who first figured out that the man-made calendar and solar year didn’t always match up. This is because it takes the earth a little longer than 365 days to travel around the sun; to be exact, it takes 365 days, 5 hours and 46 seconds. Therefore, as the hours accumulated over the centuries, the Egyptians occasionally added an extra day to the calendar. Over time, this practice became more official, to include a Leap Year every four years.
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