Traditions and Facts about Leap Year
June 26, 2008
History
Thirty days hath September, April, June and November; All the rest have thirty-one. Save February, she alone, Hath eight days and a score; Till leap year gives her one. And, so goes the nursery rhyme! Leap year, a year when an extra day is added on to the month of Februray to keep the calendar year synchronised with the astronomical or seasonal year. Originally, the Romans came up with a 355-day calendar, to which they added an extra 22 or 23-day month every second year. Inconsistency with the practice led to seasons no longer occurring at the same calendar periods as in the past. So, eliminating the extra month one or two extra days were added on to the end of various months, extending the calendar to 365-days. As well, every four years, an extra calendar day was tagged on to the month of February.
Leap Year Facts
Many interesting leap year facts and leap year traditions abound all over the world. For example, as per English law the 29th day of February has no legal status. So, a crime can be committed on that day with impunity i.e. one can commit a crime and get away scot free.
More than 365-days are required for the Earth to complete a full circle around Sun i.e. 5-hours, 48-minutes, and 46-seconds.
The Romans first designated 29th February as leap day. Later, in the 16th century the Gregorian calendar fine-tuned calculations so that any year divisible by four was a leap year. However, every year divisible by 100 is not a leap year, unless, it is also divisible by 400, when it is considered a leap year. This means, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are not leap years, while 2000 and 2400 are leap years.
The current year i.e. 2008 is a leap year and February 2008 with 5-Fridays, began on a Friday and ended on a Friday. This is an occurrence repeated every 28-years and the last time it happened was in 1980, and the next time it will happen will be in 2036. And, the longest time between each leap year is eight years, and the last time it happened was between 1896 and 1904. The next time it is scheduled to happen is between 2096 and 2104.
Leap Year Traditions
In 1288, Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to a man of their choice during leap year. And, any man who turned down a proposal made on 29th February had to pay a fine that ranged from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
Likewise, St. Bridget started a leap year tradition started in 5th century Ireland allowing women to propose to men, instead of waiting endlessly for a marriage proposal from them. Similarly, women in the United States are allowed to chase and propose to unmarried men during leap year, usually in November a day which is called Sadie Hawkins Day after a character in the cartoon strip of Lil Abner. However, according to Greek superstition it is unlucky to get married during a leap year, with one in five Greek couples consciously avoiding a leap year wedding. The Scots like the Greeks did not consider Leap Year day to be an auspicious one, and considered it unlucky to be born on such a day.
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