Happy Leap Year Day!

 

Happy Thursday and happy Leap Year Day!

Leap Year antique postcards make me laugh.  But...did you know that the tradition of a woman proposing to a man originated in Ireland?  Most sources state that St. Brigid of Kildare complained to St. Patrick that men were taking too long to propose to women.  So St. Patrick decreed that women could propose on leap year day.  

Soon the tradition spread to other areas and if a man declined the woman's proposal, the man would have to pay a penalty like give her a pair of gloves (or 12 pairs of gloves), a silk gown, etc.

One source suggested that the gloves were symbolic because they could hide the lady's ringless hands.  😮

There were even some laws in Europe that dictated penalties for a man refusing a woman's proposal.  I read that this tradition (later law) originated again with the Irish.  St. Brigid proposed to St. Patrick and he--possibly too busy casting out snakes--declined her proposal and gave her a silk gown.

Now how much this is true is debatable.  One Irish newspaper pointed out that St. Brigid was only 9 or 10 when St. Patrick died.

In some countries, this day is referred to as Bachelor's Day or Ladies Privilege.

Would you ever proposed to a man?  I know I learned my lesson asking a man out on a date in the 1970s when we women were feeling more liberated.  The man turned out to be my first husband.  I didn't do that again.  😂

Have a wonderful and safe day!