Leap year comes round once in every four years, and on that day, in some countries, it’s traditional that women can ask the man they love to marry them.
How did it all start?
In fifth century Ireland, a legend states that St. Bridget was frustrated at women having to wait such a long time for their men folk to propose marriage, so she went to St. Patrick and told him this. His reply was to allow the February day of the leap year in which the women who were in love could propose to their men folk.
In England the 29th February was just ignored. The English men and women assumed that as the 29th February had no legal status, it would also have no traditional status either. However the situation eventually changed when realising that this date of leap year only existed to help the calendar date. Using this same date could also help with an old and unfair tradition of only letting the men propose.
A new law was allegedly passed in 1288 in Scotland giving permission for a woman to propose marriage to her man that leap year. There is also a tradition that it was law that if a man refused the woman’s proposal within that leap year, then he must pay a fine. The fine could be a number of things, ranging from a kiss or payment for a pair of gloves or a silk dress.