When is Leap Day? Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.
Lianna NormanUSA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
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It’s a Leap Year! To most Americans, Leap Day is nothing but an extra 24 hours in the year.
But across the world, there are many unique traditions to celebrate or observe the extra day in February.
Here are some Leap Day traditions and superstitions from around the world that you might not have heard of.
What is the folklore of leap year?
In many cultures, like Greek, Ukrainian and Taiwanese, a Leap Year has historically meant bad luck of some kind – whether it means bad luck in love, marriage or life in general depends on the place.
Leap Year started in 46 B.C. in the Roman Empire, under Julius Caesar. Before then, the Romans used a 355-day calendar, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. When Caesar chose to adopt the Egyptian calendar, which was 365 and ¼ days, a Leap Day had to be added every four years. This is because every few years, the earth takes a little longer to orbit the sun than during a normal calendar year.
If we didn’t have Leap Day, our calendars would have an error margin of about 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds each year.
Why and where are leap years considered bad luck?
Some Greeks, Ukranians and Italians have long believed that getting married during a Leap Year is unlucky and destined to end in divorce.
In Scotland, some people believe that being born on Leap Day is a terrible omen, signifying a life full of suffering for Leaplings. Some Scottish farmers even worry about their livestock on a Leap Year. There’s an old Scottish phrase that says “A Leap Year was never a good sheep year."
In Taiwan, it’s believed that the elderly are more likely to die during a Leap Year. On Leap Day, some Taiwanese daughters return home to make their parents pig trotter noodles (a bowl of noodles with meat from pig’s feet), which are intended to bring good fortune and health.
"I'm 10!" Feb. 29 aka Leap Day is coming. How old is a leap year baby in 2024? We did the math for you
What is the tradition of proposal on leap year?
The Irish have an old tradition on Leap Day called “Bachelor’s Day” or “Ladies Privilege.”
Stemming from a time when it was uncommon for a woman to propose marriage, this tradition gave ladies the option to propose marriage to men. Bachelor’s Day has been a popular tradition since the 19th century, but is said to have originated in the 5th century.
Legend says Saint Bridgid, patroness saint of Ireland, went to Saint Patrick, known as the “Apostle of Ireland,” to complain that men take too long to propose and asked the Bishop to give women an opportunity, according to the Farmers Almanac. He offered one day every seven years and the two compromised on every four years.
It started sticking in the 19th century and by the mid-1900s, the Irish Folklore Commission started collecting Leap Day proposal stories.
What is the movie about the Leap Year proposal?
In 2010, a movie about a Leap Day proposal starring Amy Adams released. You can rent “Leap Year” on Amazon Prime or AppleTV for around $4 and it’s streaming on Hulu for free.
