Leap year was originally initiated
by Julius Caesar. The early Romans had a 355 day calendar and
to keep festivals occurring around the same season each year
a 22 or 23 day month was created every other year. Julius Caesar’s
astronomers created the 365 day calendar. The actual calculation
was done by the astrologer, Sosigenes. In the new calendar, every
fourth year following the 28th day of February) one day was added.
This created “leap year”.
These calculations did not work out exactly right, because
we would gain a day every 400 years so, in order to correct this
discrepancy. On the century years and only on those years divisible
by 400 are actually leap years. For example, the year 1900 was
not a leap year, but 2000 was. This keeps the 365-day calendar
operable. Otherwise we would gain 3 days every 400 years.
The reason for leap year is to keep the solar year in time
with the sidereal day. This keeps our holidays and our seasons
in alignment with our calendar. In the northern hemisphere, winter
is in late December through early March. Spring occurs in late
March and so on.
People are always anxious to give special times like this special
traditions and leap year is no exception. There is much superstition
and cultural tradition connected to “leap year”. For
example, February 29 is the one day of the four year period that
it is acceptable for the woman to propose matrimony to the man.
When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only
allowed to propose on one day every four years. That day was
February 29th. This tradition was started in 5th century Ireland
when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having
to wait for so long for a man to propose. So, according to legend,
St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one
day in February during the Leap Year. In 1288, we have documentation
of the first date of this practice.
Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage
to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law
that any man who declined a proposal in a Leap Year must pay
a fine. The fine could be anything from a kiss to a silk dress.
This leap day is often confused with Sadie Hawkins Day, which
was coined by cartoonist, Al Capp, creator of the comic strip ‘Lil
Abner. This date was first introduced by Capp in 1937. This was
a tradition that was celebrated in “Dogpatch” on November
15 of each year when “the homeliest gal in the hills”,
Sadie Hawkins became weary with waiting for a beau to come – a – courtin’,
so she implored her powerful father, Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent
resident of Dogpatch to decree a root race in which the unmarried
girls could pursue the most eligible bachelors of Dogpatch and
marry the man she caught. Whether this idea came from the early
European traditions can only be a point of speculation.
A survey conducted in 2003 by Korbel Champagne found that one
in three Americans know a woman who has proposed marriage to
a man. They also found that 70% of Americans agree that it’s
socially acceptable for women to propose marriage to men, almost
50% of all women would propose to their significant other, and
80% of men would accept a proposal from their significant other.
Interestingly, in ancient Rome, February was also the feast of
Lupercalis, when boys drew names of girls to honor Juno, and couples
were formed for the year. Lupercalia, the Roman feast that took
place on February 15th, was a feast of “lovemaking and licentiousness”.
Since young men could avoid joining the Roman army by being married,
Claudius outlawed marriage temporarily. However, Valentine the
priest secretly conducted marriages. Legend has it that once he
was caught and sentenced to death, young visitors came to him in
jail, giving “him flowers and slipping him notes expressing
shared feelings lauding love over war.” (Was this the original
hippie – flower child revolution?) Rumors that he fell in
love with his jailer’s daughter and signed a note “from
your Valentine” were added on, later.
Valentine was stoned and decapitated on February 14 in A.D. 269-the
day devoted to old Roman love lotteries. All three catholic saints
named Valentinus have their festival on February 14th, making it
impossible to know which Valentine is THE Saint Valentine.
The shift from martyr to romantic celebration is due in part
to Chaucer’s poem “Parliament of Fowls” which
discusses the mating rituals of birds on Valentine’s day.
In the 1600s and 1700s in Britain, Valentine’s Day had
quite a few folk traditions: people drew lots to choose their valentine.
Valentine’s Day was also a time for fortunetelling and
omens. Young women went into churchyards at midnight looking for
omens, or placed hemp seed or bay leaves under their pillows, hoping
for prophetic dreams that would give hints about the identity of
their future husbands.
I find it odd that the time of the most aggressive romantic traditions
should be found in the middle of winter. This coupled with the
fact that February 14 occurs during the time of Aquarius, the detached
and unromantic sign of the zodiac, and February 29 falls in the
sign of Pisces, one of the least aggressive and more spiritual
signs, puzzles me. it doesn’t fit somehow. Yet what better
time to snuggle by a warm fire and nest in a lair until the spring
thaws bring the fresh new beginnings of spring.
resources:
http://manolobrides.com/2005/11/30taking-matrimonial-bliss-into-our-own-hands
http://meaningofgifts.com/holiday/
valentines/index.html
http://leapyearday.com/
February29isNOTSadieHawkinsDay.htm |
