Leap Year Rhymes with Beer!

Monday, Feb 29, 2016
4pm

Lots #36 & 37

Super Happy Hour and Beer tasting.

(bring two beers each-something special,

 your chairs and a nibble to share)

 

 

Read on for Leap Year Trivia

In Ireland and Britain, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only in leap years. While it has been claimed that the tradition was initiated by St. Patrick or Brigade of Kildare in 5th century Ireland, this is dubious, as the tradition has not been attested before the 19th century.

 

 

 Supposedly, a 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland (then age five and living in Norway), required that fines be levied if a marriage proposal was refused by the man; compensation was deemed to be a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, £1 and a kiss. In some places the tradition was tightened to restricting female proposals to the modern leap day, February 29, or to the medieval (bissextile) leap day, February 24.

 

According to Felten: "A play from the turn of the 17th century, 'The Maydes Metamorphosis,' has it that 'this is leape year/women wear breeches.' A few hundred years later, breeches wouldn't do at all: Women looking to take advantage of their opportunity to pitch woo were expected to wear a scarlet petticoat—fair warning, if you will."

 

In Finland, the tradition is that if a man refuses a woman's proposal on leap day, he should buy her the fabrics for a skirt.

 

In France, since 1980, a satirical newspaper entitled La Bougie du Sapeur is published only on leap year, on February 29.

 

In Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year

 

In February 1988 the town of Anthony in Texas, declared itself "leap year capital of the world", and an international leapling birthday club was started as "Sadie Hawkins Day" signifying a gender role reversal, such as a day when a woman proposes marriage to a man.