![\"tumblr_m06nssRSkh1qc4uvwo1_500\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2016\/02\/tumblr_m06nssRSkh1qc4uvwo1_500.jpg\" "\\"http:\/\/chibird.com\/post\/18527444916\/happy-leap-day-im-not-genius-enough-to-come-up\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nSo what are the customs\/traditions for this special day?<\/p>\n
Well, I guess the most known one is when\u00a0Women Propose to Their Men! (kobiety o\u015bwiadczaj\u0105 si\u0119 m\u0119\u017cczyznom)<\/strong><\/p>\n According to an old Irish legend, or possibly history, St Brigid struck a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men \u2013 and not just the other way around \u2013 every four years.<\/p>\n This is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how\u00a0leap day\u00a0balances the calendar.<\/p>\n But I guess every country is different…<\/p>\n In Greece<\/strong>, getting married in a leap year is\u00a0considered inauspicious, and the relationship is thought likely to end in divorce.<\/p>\n Women in Finland<\/strong>\u00a0are advised to propose only on leap-year day – Feb. 29 – for good luck. If her boyfriend should refuse, he is required to pay her a “fine”: enough fabric to make a skirt.<\/p>\n In Scotland<\/strong>, an unmarried Queen Margaret\u00a0allegedly enacted a law in 1288 allowing women to propose on leap-year day. But there was\u00a0a catch: The proposer had to wear a red petticoat (a skirt under her skirt) to warn her intended that she planned to pop the question.<\/p>\n Perhaps the most well-known of the leap-year marriage superstitions belongs to Ireland<\/strong>, where, again, women are advised to propose only on Feb. 29 for good luck. (Anyone remember\u00a0the 2010 film, “Leap Year”?)<\/p>\n Another custom, Gloves Hide Naked Ring Finger (R\u0119kawice ukrywaj\u0105 nagi palec serdeczny)<\/strong><\/p>\n In some places, leap day has been known as \u201cBachelors\u2019 Day\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Leap Day Babies World Record<\/strong><\/p>\n People born on February 29 are all invited to join The Honor society of Leap Year Day Babies.<\/p>\n According to the Guinness Book of Records, there are Leap Day World Record Holders both of a family producing three consecutive generations born on February 29 and of the number of children born on February 29 in the same family.<\/p>\n How do \u201cleaplings\u201d, people born on Leap Day, celebrate their birthdays?\u00a0Leap day on February 29 occurs nearly every four years, but leap day babies, or leaplings, still get to celebrate their birthdays in common years. Some celebrate on February 28, some prefer March 1.\u00a0However, many countries have laws defining which date a person born on February 29 comes of age in legal terms. For instance in New Zealand, the official birthday falls on February 28 in common years; in other countries like the United Kingdom, leap year babies have to wait until March 1.<\/p>\n Celebrity Leap Day Birthdays<\/p>\n 1468 \u2013 Pope Paul III (d. 1549) Unlucky in Love<\/strong><\/p>\n In Scotland, it used to be considered unlucky for someone to be born on leap day, just as Friday\u00a013th\u00a0is considered an unlucky day by many. Greeks consider it unlucky for couples to marry during a leap year, and especially on Leap Day (like I mentioned before).<\/p>\n St Oswald\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p>\n Leap day is also St Oswald\u2019s Day, named after the archbishop of York who died on February 29, 992. His memorial is celebrated on February 29 during leap years and on February 28 duringcommon years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is almost here! Tomorrow is February 29th! My friend from Poland, Agnieszka, celebrates her birthday tomorrow! What a great way to stay young:) Let’s see…if she would really celebrate her birthday every 4 years, she would be only 9 today!!! Happy Birthday Agnieszka! Leap Day, on February 29, has been a day of traditions…<\/p>\n
\n1792 \u2013 Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (William Tell, The Barber of Seville) (d. 1868)
\n1896 \u2013 Morarji Desai, former Indian prime minister (d. 1995)
\n1968 \u2013 Wendi Louise Peters, English television and theatre character actress
\n1916 \u2013 Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)
\n1924 \u2013 Al Rosen, American baseball player
\n1924 \u2013 Carlos Humberto Romero, former president of El Salvador
\n1960 \u2013 Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker
\n1964 \u2013 Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player
\n1972 \u2013 Saul Stacey Williams, American singer, musician, poet, writer, and actor
\n1972 \u2013 Antonio Sab\u00e0to Jr, Italian-born actor
\n1976 \u2013 Ja Rule (real name Jeffrey Atkins), American rapper and actor
\n1980 \u2013 Chris Conley, American musician and songwriter\/composer<\/p>\n