Is your intended taking too long to pop that all-important question? This year, 2024, is leap year!!! Find out what you can do this year!!!
What is a leap year?
The Gregorian calendar has 365 days, it is used on the majority of countries around the world. But the Earth orbits the sun in 365,2422 days. If we count these quarter-days over time, the seasons would move out of synch with the calendar.
Year 46BC, a year of confusion
In the year of 46BC, Julius Caesar along with his astronomer created the 365-day Julian calendar. And a leap year was introduced every four years. The year of 46BC is known as “a confusión year of 445 days”, since Julius Caesar wanted to correct the gaps once and for all.
By the year of 1582, Pope Gregory XIII noted a gap of 10 days, and this gap modified the dates of Christian celebrations.
So he decided to establish the end-of-century rule to keep months and seasons aligned. Adding an extra day every four years, makes every year 365 days and a quarter, which is actually 11 minutes longer than the Earth’s orbit. To combat this, end-of-century years must be divisible by 400 to be a leap year. So 2000 was a leap year, but 1900 was not and 2100 won’t be either.
A very romantic tradition 💕💕
In Ireland, Leap Day is also known as “Bachelor’s Day or Ladies’ Priviledge”, it is when women have the “right” to propose to their partners on 29th February, rather than the other way around.
Today anyone can propose to their intended and hope they say yes, but it wasn’t always this way.
The legend says that Saint Brigid made a deal with Saint Patrick in the 5th century on behalf of all women waiting for their partner to propose. Saint Patrick agreed that women could propose once every four years.
This tradition was well known in the 19th century, even there were the first requirements in case a man refuses the proposal. In case of a refusal, man needed to purchase gloves, a silk gown or a fur coat, and perhaps do a spot of juggling on Easter Sunday.
Nowadays this irish tradition was spread to Scotland, Finland and the United States. In Denmark for example, a man would even have to buy a woman 12 pairs of gloves to hide her ringless fingers.
Our “Aunt Distress” advices that if the answer is “no” from the partner, it is better to ask for something more dear than 12 pairs of gloves…maybe a Ferrari, or something like that. What do you think about it?? Would you propose to your partner this February 29th?? elcastillodeana