Picture circa London 1884Happy Leap Year Day!
Some fun facts about Leap Years:
In older times in England, February 29 was ignored and had no legal status. This custom also migrated over to the United States during that time. You probably wouldn't want to close escrow on your house on a Leap Day back then.
This is even better: a Leap Year was the only time that society permitted a woman to ask a man for his hand in marriage. And if he declined a proposal in a Leap Year, he owed her a silk dress and a kiss on the cheek!
Leap Year Balls were all the rage in both England and America. They were given all throughout the Leap Year, and the women were the ones to ask the men to dance. They could even cut in on other women during dances, just as men are wont to do. To learn more about the picture above, check out this link to make sense of it all!
And finally, here's a link to a funny little story about Leap Year that appeared in the Washington Post today.
Enjoy your extra day!
Some fun facts about Leap Years:
In older times in England, February 29 was ignored and had no legal status. This custom also migrated over to the United States during that time. You probably wouldn't want to close escrow on your house on a Leap Day back then.
This is even better: a Leap Year was the only time that society permitted a woman to ask a man for his hand in marriage. And if he declined a proposal in a Leap Year, he owed her a silk dress and a kiss on the cheek!
Leap Year Balls were all the rage in both England and America. They were given all throughout the Leap Year, and the women were the ones to ask the men to dance. They could even cut in on other women during dances, just as men are wont to do. To learn more about the picture above, check out this link to make sense of it all!
And finally, here's a link to a funny little story about Leap Year that appeared in the Washington Post today.
Enjoy your extra day!
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1 comment:
And what happens if you are born on Feb 29? How sad! But kind of fun!
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