Jumping into Leap Day

“Thirty days hath September, 

April, June and November; 

All the rest have thirty-one, 

Excepting February alone 

Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine, 

Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.”

-old saying

We are all pretty familiar with the above phrase from when we were little – basically thinking that February was WEIRD because it had too few days. But truth is, February has some cool traditions associated with its extra day that occurs every 4 years. 

Why do we need an extra day every 4 years though? According to this cleveland.com, “It takes the Earth approximately 365.242189 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds – to circle once around the Sun. This called a tropical year. Without an extra day on February 29 nearly every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days.” So we need this extra day or else we would actually be losing time.

One question people should ask is… what happens to people who are born on Leap Day? Are they not allowed to celebrate their birthday the other 3 years in between leap years? According to how many days there are in 4 years worth of time, the likelihood of being born on a Leap Day is 1/1,461. So, not very likely.  But at the same time, that means it’s pretty cool to be one of those few people who are. These people are called “leaplings” or “leapers”. On off years, they celebrate their birthday on February 28th or March 1st.  Just think of how cool it would be to be technically 84 and be able to tell people that you are technically only 21?  I mean, it’s TRUE! 

Another interesting tradition of Leap Day involves proposals. Perhaps you saw the movie Leap Year a few years ago when it came out, but according to an Irish myth, a woman can propose to a man on February 29th if he is taking too long to make the commitment himself. 

But where does this tradition come from? According to this irishcentral.com, it originated in 5th century Ireland when a tough St. Brigid of Kildare went to St. Patrick complaining that men were too slow to propose, leaving women waiting.  In response, he said that women were allowed to propose this one day in February.  After being spread to Scotland, a law was passed in 1288 that any man who declined would be forced to pay a fine.  Allegedly, this was passed by Queen Margaret (who would have only been 5 at the time), and she also said that women proposing had to also wear a red petticoat for the proposal.  The fine was not as bad as you would think.  It could vary from a kiss to payment for a pair of gloves or a silk dress.  One speculation for the fine of a purchase of gloves was so that the rejected woman could hide her lack of an engagement ring, lessening the embarrassment (this allows for Leap Day to sometimes be called Bachelor’s Day).

While this may seem crazy and something you only see in movies like Leap Year, some people still practice this tradition! Along with that, the United States also sometimes refers to  February 29th as Sadie Hawkins’ Day.  In the Al Capp comic “Li’l Abner”, Sadie Hawkins Dances were inspired, where boys could be asked by girls to dances.  In the words of the Reliant K song, “The Sadie Hawkins Dance in my khaki pants, there’s nothing better oh oh oh. The girls ask the guys. It’s always a surprise. There’s nothing better. Baby do you like my sweater?”

Whether you choose to ever participate in this tradition of proposal, you have to admit that Leap Day has some pretty cool traditions.  If anything, it’s nice to know that there’s an extra day to pursue whatever your heart desires! So, take a LEAP of faith towards something you’re unsure of today! 

other websites consulted: 

• Leap Day