Special
Archives February 2004
Leap
for Love
Leap Year is the traditional time when women could propose marriage.
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.
The tradition supposedly 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 ladies could
propose on this one day in February during the Leap Year.
In English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status,
so the assumption followed that traditions would also have no status
on that day. People reasoned that since leap year day existed
to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix a problem
in the customs that only let men propose marriage.
In 1288, 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.
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