happy leap day!
i would love to report that something amazingly magical happened today - but alas, it did not. so, instead i am going to bore you with some random information about leap day. (aka a factual rant)
leap day is february 29, which is an extra day added during a leap year, making the year 366 days long – and not 365 days, like a normal year. ever since leap years were first introduced over 2000 years ago with the transition from the roman calendar to the julian calendar in 45 bce, leap day has been associated with age-old leap day traditions and folklore.
according to an old irish legend, or possibly history, st bridget struck a deal with st patrick to allow women to propose to men – and not just the other way around – every 4 years. this is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how leap day balances the calendar.
in some places, leap day has been known as “bachelors’ day” for the same reason. a man was expected to pay a penalty, such as a gown or money, if he refused a marriage proposal from a woman on leap day. in many european countries, especially in the upper classes of society, tradition dictates that any man who refuses a woman's proposal on february 29 has to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. the intention is that the woman can wear the gloves to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. during the middle ages there were laws governing this tradition.
according to the guinness book of records, the only verified example of a family producing three consecutive generations born on february 29 is that of the keogh family. peter anthony was born in ireland on February 29, 1940, while his son peter eric was born on the leap day in the united kingdom in 1964. his daughter, bethany wealth, was, in turn, born in the uk on february 29, 1996. impressive.
a norwegian family named henriksen from andenes holds the official record of number of children born on february 29. mrs. karin henriksen gave birth to 3 children on consecutive february 29; her daughter heidi in 1960 and her sons olav and leif-martin in 1964 and 1968 respectively.
for more random leap facts - take a look here!
there was also a few celebrities listed that are born on leap day - i only knew who two of them are, so for your information...
1972 – antonio sabàto jr, italian-born actor
1976 – ja rule, american rapper and actor
happy birthday to you both - many happy returns for your 10th and 9th birthdays respectively :)
last but not least, we almost had a leap birthday in our family - jared david was born on february 27th in a leap year - but unfortunately he was ready and couldn't wait two more days, regardless of how much my brother begged donna to hold on. so on that note, i'm out - but all the best to anyone who proposed to their boyfriend today - hope that worked out well for you! :) i'll try to write something a little more interesting 4 years from now. x
