You have probably seen the 2010 movie, Leap Year, about a woman who chases after the Irish tradition of a woman proposing to a man on Leap Day. What is Leap Day, and how accurate is that tradition?
Leap day comes around once every four years. It all started with Julius Cesar. He (along with advisors and senators) realized their calendar wasn’t really working very well so they created the Julian calendar, and a leap day along with that. It wasn’t perfect and in 1582 Pope Gregory X111 signed into effect the Gregorian calendar, which helped with lost days in the Julian calendar. Leap Day still existed, but now it was set to every four years.
Back to 5th century Ireland.
St Brigid of Kildare, whose feast day is on Feb 1st, apparently met with St. Patrick. She was concerned that men were taking too long to propose and asked for a sanctioned day where women could ask men to marry them instead of waiting for men to pop the question. After some bargaining, St. Patrick agreed that Leap Day would be the exceptional day. According to some legends, Brigid then proposed to St. Patick, who declined. He did however, give her a kiss on the cheek and a silk dress. The years don’t quite work out for this to truly be possible, but it did add to the traditions of Leap Day proposals.
If a woman proposes to a man on Leap Day, and he refuses, he is required to give a gift; such as a silk dress, gloves to hide the fact that she has no ring, or pay a fine.
Irish monks not only spread the gospel, they also took the tradition of Leap Day proposals to other nations, particularly Scotland and England. In 1288 Scotland even passed a law to allow women the right to propose on Leap Day. It is said that Queen Margaret added a small detail; the woman had to wear a red petticoat. (She was only five at the time—maybe red was her favorite color?)
Al Capp’s comic Li’l Abner, capitalizes on this idea creating a Sadie Hawkin’s day. Again, women have the freedom to have one day a year to chase down their man.
Leap Day is also referred to as Bachelors’ Day and Ladies’ Privilege.
Times have changed. Woman don’t need a designated day on which to propose, or ask someone to a dance. Luckily, she can do either without censure from society.
Which brings us back to the movie, Leap Year. It received terrible reviews, especially in Ireland. It’s the movie they ‘love to hate’. But it did bring the old tradition to light and put Ireland in the spot light.
Elsewhere in the world, Leap Day/year is considered bad luck: your marriage is doomed if you marry on this day, bad farming years, and unlucky birthday to name a few things.
An extra day of work? An extra day of fun? Just an extra day? Or does it go unnoticed in your world?
Some articles you might enjoy:
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/leap-year-irish-tradition-proposal
https://www.myirishjeweler.com/blog/how-did-proposing-on-leap-day-become-an-irish-tradition
All Things *Ancient* Irish 