Leap into Love by Bea Tifton

 Posting for the lovely and talented Beth Trissel, but the computer gremlins wouldn't let me post yesterday. 

It’s leap year! I don’t know why we feel those are so magical. Maybe it’s because they only come every four years. I love celebrating them, but I’m glad I wasn’t born on February29. Too many complications. One man said on the news that he’s had trouble getting credit cards, filling out official forms, etc. because February 29 isn’t accepted by the bot. I never even thought of that one.

Leap years occur because the earth doesn’t really take 365 days o orbit the sun; it’s actually 365 days, 6 hours, and 9 minutes. We have to tack on the extra day or the calendar would be off and our seasons would shift.

But leap day has its folklore.  In Scotland, February 29 is considered unlucky, because “leap year is never a good sheep year.” In Greece, the day is considered very unlucky and couples are discouraged from marrying on that day, lest the marriage go sour and end in divorce.  In Ireland, women are able to propose to men on February 29. The origin of the belief is that in the 5^th century, St. Brig hid complained to St. Patrick that the men were too slow to propose. St. Patrick chose leap day as a day when traditional roles were reversed and women could do the asking.

We celebrated leap day at my house by watching the charming rom com “Leap Year” with Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. We usually watch the movie each February 29 but it was fun to watch it on the actual day.

In England a bartender invented a special cocktail called the Leap Year. It contains gin, vermouth, lemon juice, and Grand Marnier. Dutch courage for special February 29 proposals, maybe?

So mix up a Leap Year for yourself and settle down to watch the movie. It’s four whole years before you have another chance.

Photo Credits Pexels.com

Vlad Chetan "Man Jumping from a Rock"

Maksim Goncharenok "Couple Facing Each Other at the Beach"

Kampus Production "An Elderly Couple Watching Television Together"

Karolina Grabowska "Woman Holding a Glass of Wine and Watching TV in a Bed"