Quirky leap year facts
The point of leap year is to help adjust our Gregorian calendar (the 365-day calendar you can find on your desk or phone) to the solar calendar and make sure we celebrate solar events like the spring and autumn equinoxes with some regularity every year.
Even adding an extra day to February every four years doesn’t quite do the trick, which is why scientists sometimes call for a leap second like they did in 2015 on 30 June at 11:59:60pm.
What’s crazier than 29 February?
A woman proposing to a man, says history. If you’re a traditionalist who hopes their partner will pop the question on Valentine’s Day and they don’t then you can always wait for a leap year. Of course, it is absolutely perfectly fine for women to ask their partner to marry them, but there are those who stick to old social etiquette. And that means waiting for the man to get down on one knee and asking his girlfriend for her hand in marriage. Except on one day every four years, on 29 February.
Traditionally, women who want to propose do so on leap day. Of course, 29 February, is only a calendar date during leap years, which happen every four years. In a curious, centuries old custom, women are traditionally given the opportunity to boldly and legally propose marriage. The tradition now called Bachelor’s Day or Sadie Hawkins Day peaked in the early 1900s and continues today where some retailers even offer discount packages to women popping the question.
Celebrate leap day with shopping deals
How does one celebrate a holiday that’s not really a holiday? By shopping, obviously. Many businesses offer massive Valentine’s Day deals. Take a minute to check in with any restaurants, hotels, or cruise lines you’ve been curious about; chances are they have a promotion running.
Is leap day good luck or bad luck?
Depends on who you ask. The superstition that leap days are particularly lucky or unlucky has been debated through history and across cultures and there’s still no clear winner. For one thing, it’s bad luck if you’re a prisoner on a one year sentence that spans a leap day. Also, bad news if you work on a fixed annual salary; no extra pay for that extra day. On the other hand, leap day is great luck if you’re on a fixed monthly rent (one free day of living).
Source: Reader’s Digest
In South Africa, women pin their valentine’s name to their sleeves. People in South Africa literally wear their hearts on their sleeves on Valentine’s Day. It’s become a tradition for women to write down the name of their lovers or their secret crushes and pin it to their shirt sleeves.
Leap into love with our leaping love frog competition
Enter the South Coast Sun’s Valentine’s Day competition.Only count the randomly placed leaping love frogs across the newspaper.Submit the correct number of frogs on the South Coast Sun website (www.southcoastsun.co.za) and stand a chance to win a spa treatment for two valued at R2 500 from The View Hotel Boutique and Spa.
The competition runs from Thursday, 6 February at noon until Wednesday, 12 February at noon T&C Apply.
