Leap Year ~ Facts, Fun & Fiction

Surely you’ve heard myths and legends about Leap Year. 
 

Whereas the truth behind the existence of Feb 29^th is purely astronomical, it has become a bit of an urban legend in itself. Our year can be measured by 365 days and approximately 6 hours. Therefore, every fourth year we have 366 days – an extra day to make up for the 6 extra hours over a four year period. 

Here's some of what is circulating about Leap Year:

Leap year happens every four years, when we add February 29^th to the calendar. Like everything else that humans are involved in, it has become a bit a legend over the years.

This is a time when women will succeed to positions of leadership and fame.

It’s considered a year of good fortune and luck. 

Christopher Columbus (portrait above is said to be him) could attest to that while he and his crew were marooned on the island of Jamaica, where the natives had grown tired of their arrogance and had stopped bringing them food. He made use of a lunar eclipse he knew was imminent on February 29th 1504. Gathering the chiefs, he told them God would punish them if they didn't resume feeding the foreigners and would soon show them His displeasure with a sign in the sky. As the eclipse moved in and the moon darkened, they grew terrified of God's wrath and the stranger's potent magic. They agreed to feed the crew again and of course the eclipse started to clear. There were no further problems with the locals while they were stuck on the island.

Leap year is when you should expect the unexpected. The entire year is full of surprises and usually the opposite of what you expect is what will happen.

Nowadays, women propose whenever they wish, but that was not always the case. It used to be unheard of for a woman to propose to a man. Only on February 29th could women propose marriage. 

Slemish Mountain, Co. Antrim where St Patrick is said to have shepherded as a slave

The tradition is said to have begun in 5^th century Ireland when something known as St. Bridget’s Complaint argued that women were having to wait too long to be asked to marry. St. Patrick gave permission for women to propose to the man they desired every February 29^th. Just one day every four years! 

St. Brigid of Kildare

Fast forward to 13^th century Scotland. Women were encouraged to wear red petticoats when proposing, and to make sure the object of their affection could see it beneath their skirts. If a man rejected a proposal made on Feb 29^th he had to pay a fine. Usually it was a kiss or a dozen pairs of gloves, so the embarrassed woman could hide the fact there was no ring on her finger.

It is said that back in the day, Feb 29^th was not recognized by English Law. Therefore, it was a day beyond the law and without legal status. Spunky women took advantage of it to make their proposals.

I saw a sweet movie called Leap Year that was filmed around 2010, starring Amy Adams. She played a young woman who traveled to Ireland – and then across the island – to propose to her love on that special date.

In Greece, it is considered unlucky to marry on February 29^th while in Finland women are encouraged to propose only on February 29th for good fortune. 

Whether leap year proposals are considered auspicious or inauspicious depends on who you ask. It's all in good sport, and at the same times gives us another snapshot into how women were viewed and treated hundreds of years ago.

As romance authors, our vivid imaginations can conjure all sorts of love stories unfolding into marriage proposals on that quirky day.

And since St. Patrick’s Day is just a hop, skip and a leap (no pun intended) from February 29^th, I thought I’d mention my sweet romance, To Kiss A Leprechaun. This magical love story speaks of kisses, marriages and fantasy such as one can only find in mythical Ireland. 

Do you have any Leap Year stories to share with us? Do you know a woman who proposed on February 29th?

GEMMA JULIANA writes all kinds of love stories, from contemporary to paranormal. She has a penchant for romantic international settings. Gemma lives in a cozy cottage in Texas with her very own hero, teen son, and a dog who rules them all. Chocolate and coffee nourish her muse and fuel her creativity. She loves hearing from readers.

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Leap Year

In February I don't have to write a blog for Romance Books Or Us because my turn is always the 29th of every month.  This year is leap year so February has 29 days in it, and it's my turn to blog.

A leap year (or intercalary or bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day (or, in the case of lunisolar calendars, a month) in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, a calendar that had the same number of days in each year would, over time, drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year.

 February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365 days.

Here are some traditions for leap day.  In the British Isles, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only on leap years. While it has been claimed that the tradition was initiated by Saint Patrick or Brigid of Kildare in 5th century Ireland, this is dubious, as the tradition has not been attested before the 19th century. Supposedly, a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then age five and living in Norway), required that fines be levied if a marriage proposal was refused by the man; compensation ranged from a kiss to £1 to a silk gown, in order to soften the blow In some places the tradition was tightened to restricting female proposals to the modern leap year day, February 29, or to the medieval (bissextile) leap year day, February 24.

According to Felten: "A play from the turn of the 17th century, 'The Maydes Metamorphosis,' has it that 'this is leape year/women wear breeches.' A few hundred years later, breeches wouldn't do at all: Women looking to take advantage of their opportunity to pitch woo were expected to wear a scarlet petticoat—fair warning, if you will."

In Denmark, the tradition is that women may propose on the bissextile leap year day, February 24, and that refusal must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves.

In Finland, the tradition is that if a man refuses a woman's proposal on leap year day, he should buy her the fabrics for a skirt

In Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year.

A person born on February 29 may be called a "leapling" or a "leaper". In common years they usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28 or March 1. In some situations, March 1 is used as the birthday in a non-leap year since it is the day following February 28.

Technically, a leapling will have fewer birthday anniversaries than their age in years. This phenomenon is exploited when a person claims to be only a quarter of their actual age, by counting their leap-year birthday anniversaries only. In Gilbert and Sullivan's 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance, Frederic the pirate apprentice discovers that he is bound to serve the pirates until his 21st birthday rather than until his 21st year.

For legal purposes, legal birthdays depend on how local laws count time intervals.

For additional information you can go to Wikipedia. 

Contest News: Romance Books Or Us will be having contests for the next few months.  The first will be a St. Patrick's Day contest.  Be sure to visit Romance Books Or Us website at http://www.romancebooksrus.com.

Also, this is last for the sale of all of Eirelander Publishing's catalog is 30% off at the Coffee Time Romance Store!  My books can be found there. 
http://www.facebook.com/l/jAQG5ejlSAQEYYOCpkn86ElhnRnU4Nv7CnQ-CUd9T2HZMrA/www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=116

Have a Happy Leap Year!

Sandra K. Marshall, author of The Odyssey Mysteries Trilogy
http://www.skaymarshall.com