Leap years are perceived differently by people, as some may revel in the hope of forthcoming good fortune – whereas others may fear a leap year will bring indisputable suffering and failure due to age-old superstitions.
Leap years help keep the 12-month calendar matched with earth's movement around the sun.
After four years, those leftover hours add up to a whole day.
In a leap year, we add this extra day to the month of February, making it 29 days long instead of the usual 28.
This year, February 29 falls on a Thursday, and with that mind, we thought it would be interesting to explore some of the customs, traditions and superstitions surrounding the date.
1. Women propose to men
According to an old Irish legend, and historically, St Brigid struck a deal with St Patrick to allow women to propose to men every four years to balance the traditional roles of women and men in society. 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. And in some places, leap day has been known as “Bachelors’ Day” 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. This information is all courtesy of www.timeanddate.com Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images
2. Leap day babies
People born on February 29 are all invited to join The Honour Society of Leap Year Day Babies. In 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. Photo: Stock
3. Unlucky in love
According to Scottish folklore, it was considered unlucky for someone to be born on leap day, just as Friday 13 has been deemed an unlucky date throughout history. Greeks also considered it an unlucky year for couples to marry, with February 29 being a particularly unlucky date. Written and passed down in Greek and Ukrainian folklore is the belief that getting married during a leap year will ultimately end in divorce. Photo: Teraphim
4. World's least frequently published newspaper
La Bougie du Sapeur is a French satirical newspaper launched in 1980 that is published only on Leap Day, making it the world's least frequently published newspaper. The tenth edition of the leap year publication "La Bougie du Sapeur", is photographed in Paris, on February 2016. This year marks the paper's 12th edition. Photo: Thomas Samson