Today is leap day, an “extra” day that rolls around every four years. Many take this day off from work on the pretext that, because it’s an “extra” day for which they’re not receiving extra pay, it should be used for something special. A few see it as a chance to “stick it to the man” by not showing up for work.

In any event, Happyfeet asked me to explain the illustration in Monday’s Leap Years post and so here’s my “long way around” take on it, with a little history and folklore thrown in for good measure:

Brief History

In ancient Rome, leap day was on February 24 due to February being the last month of the calendar. The original Roman calendar added an extra month every few years to maintain the correct seasonal changes. The Julian calendar was implemented in 45 BCE, resulting in a leap day being added to the end of February every four years.

In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII refined the Julian calendar with a new rule that a century year is not a leap year unless it is evenly divisible by 400. The introduction of the Gregorian calendar was observed in some countries including Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. The conversion took longer for other countries such as Great Britain (1752) and Lithuania (1915).

Tradition and Folklore

A tradition was introduced many centuries ago to allow women to propose to men during a leap year. This privilege of proposing was restricted to leap day in some areas. Leap day was sometimes known as “Bachelors’ Day”. A man was expected to pay a penalty, such as a gown or money, if he refused a marriage offer from a woman. Sadie Hawkins Day, from the old Li’l Abner comic strip, was loosely based on leap day.

The tradition’s origin stemmed from an old Irish tale referring to St Bridget striking a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men every four years. This old custom was probably made to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how the leap day balances the calendar.

It was also considered to be unlucky for someone to be born on a leap day in Scotland and for couples to marry in a leap year, including on a leap day, in Greece.

So here’s that explanation, Happyfeet. The illustration depicts a woman offering her heart in marriage on a leap day. She’s apparently received a refusal or two since she’s carrying a bag of money and may be wearing a new gown. But the day’s not over and she’s still “on the job”. Work for you? Works for me.

Observances

Leap day is also St Oswald’s Day, named after a 10th century archbishop of York who died on February 29, 992. The feast is celebrated on February 29 during leap years and on February 28 in other years. February 29 is one of the days of Ayyám-i-Há (February 26 to March 1) in the Bahá’í calendar. These days are dedicated to fasting preparations, charity, hospitality and gift-giving.