|
No, this is not about Hillary Clinton trying to be the first woman president of the United States. Rather it is about the customs and traditions associated with yesterday-February 29th-also called Leap Day. What distinguishes it is the novelty of this month having an extra day every fourth year. There is a calendar/astronomy reason for this, but you can look that up, if you like, on Google. My interest in the topic is based on one particular custom that has come down through the ages: proposal of marriage. In Western culture this peculiar custom has always been the job of men to do, often from a position on their knees with a diamond ring. The lucky lady has then the right to accept or refuse the gentleman's offer. She might have really WANTED him to propose to her and used all her feminine wiles to bring the event about. But custom prevented her from proposing to him. Except on Leap Day!
Google's researchers divulged the following information: Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th. It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year. According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage. The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves. In the United States, some people have referred to this date as Sadie Hawkins Day with women being given the right to run after unmarried men to propose. Many years ago I had friends whose church group enjoyed many social activities together. Since they were all of dating, and hence marrying, age it sometimes happened that marriage occurred. I knew one of the young men who had been enamored of one young lady. Unfortunately his affections were rejected since the lady in question preferred to wait for her true love to return from his military duty. The Viet Nam War brought about such things. Meanwhile, the rejected bachelor went about his life sadly and thereafter was drafted himself. When he completed his military duty and returned home, another young lady from that group saw her opportunity to express her own interest in him. She used Leap Day to propose marriage, possibly in a kidding way. But what it said to my friend was that if he proposed to her, he would not be rejected. Sure enough, within a short time they had set a wedding date. Beyond that I have no personal knowledge of any Leap Day romances. The biggest attention to Leap Day this year was CNN announcing that the extra day would be devoted to the primary voting on March 4th. Being tired of the campaign's trivia, I paid it no attention. I will be glad when the primaries are over and speculations will be exchanged for realities. Everyone on television has an opinion about what is going to happen. Some of these opinions are expressed by people of considerable education; others are those of newscasters; ordinary potential voters are also considered. Do I have an opinion? Yes. I want regular television back! Just Mom |
| Return To My Home Page | Return To The Archives | |
 |
||
| Cartoon Courtesy of Coffee Cup Software |