BACHELOR'S DAY - FEBRUARY 29th 2016
AS AN ELIGABLE BATCHELOR .... I AM LYING LOW TODAY
Ireland's folklore is full of wonderful, funny, strange, but sometimes out-dated traditions and in this year of 366 days, we are greeted with one of the most well-known.
Yes, it is a leap year, and although you may have thought it was a myth,
according to the old Irish tradition, this is the perfect chance for a
woman to take matters into her own hands and get down on one knee on February 29.
Looking back through ancient Irish history, it is said that the tradition began in 5th century Ireland when St. Brigid of Kildare bitterly complained to St. Patrick that women had to wait far too long for men to propose.
The
legend says that St. Patrick decreed the women could propose on this
one day in February during the leap year. I'm sure the women were
thrilled.
The tradition was then taken to Scotland by Irish monks.
Back
in 1288, the Scots passed a law that allowed a woman to propose
marriage to the man of their dreams in a Leap Year with the law also
stating that any man who declined the proposal on this day would have to
pay a fine.
The law was allegedly passed
by an unmarried Queen Margaret (although records show she may only have
been five years old at the time) and she put in place a rule that all
those women proposing must wear a red petticoat while doing so.
The fine to be paid if a man declined could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.
This tradition comes from another tale about St. Patrick and St. Brigid
in which she drops straight to her knee at Patrick's decree, instantly
proposing to him. Patrick declined her offer – he was probably too busy
saving Ireland from snakes – but he gave her a kiss on the cheek and a
silk gown to soften the blow.
This, too, is dubious. Although
many people believe that St. Patrick and St. Brigid met, and that she
offered her vows to him, Brigid would historically have been only nine
or ten years old when Patrick died in 461 AD. If you believe he died
later, however, in 493 AD, it may have been possible, although it's
still not altogether likely.
In some upper-class European
societies, the custom of denial involved buying 12 pairs of gloves for
the woman you were rejecting. To hide her shame at not having a ring to
wear, of course!
In some places, February 29 has been renamed Bachelors' Day because of the tradition.
February 29, also known as the leap day of the Gregorian calendar, is a date that occurs in most years that are divisible
by 4, such as 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Years that are
divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day. Thus, 1700,
1800, and 1900 did not contain a leap day, 2100, 2200, and 2300 will
not contain a leap day, while 1600 and 2000 did, and 2400 will. Years
containing a leap day are called leap years.
February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year,
with 306 days remaining until the end of the year. In the Chinese calendar, this day will only occur in years of the monkey, dragon, and rat.
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