Turn around: An Irish legend notes that St. Brigid made an agreement with St. Patrick to allow women

Turn around: An Irish legend notes that St. Brigid made an agreement with St. Patrick to allow women to propose to men every four years. This was to balance the traditional roles of women and men, just as leap year balances the calendar.

Bachelor’s Day: Leap day also is known as Bachelor’s Day. In Europe, if a man refused a marriage proposal from a woman, he was expected to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The gloves hid the fact she did not have an engagement ring.

Unlucky: In Scotland, it is considered unlucky to be born on leap day, just as Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day by many.

Leap day babies: The Guinness Book of Records reports the only verified example of a family producing three-consecutive generations born Feb. 29 is the Keogh family in the United Kingdom. Peter Anthony was born in Ireland on leap day in 1940, while his son, Peter Eric, was born in the UK on Feb. 29, 1964. Peter Eric’s daughter, Bethany Wealth, was also a leap day baby, born in the UK on Feb. 29, 1996. The Henriksen family from Andenes, Norway, has the official record for the most number of children born in one family on leap day. Karin Henriksen gave birth to three children on Feb. 29; her daughter Heidi in 1960 and her sons Olav and Leif-Martin in 1964 and 1968.

Birthday observance: “Leaplings” usually follow their preference on when to celebrate in nonleap years, Feb. 28 or March 1. In New Zealand, the law defines the official birthday as Feb. 28 in common years and in the United Kingdom, March 1. Leap day also is St. Oswald Day, who died Feb. 29, 992. His memorial is celebrated Feb. 29 in leap years and Feb. 28 in common years.

Leap year capital: Anthony, Texas, and Anthony, New Mexico, celebrate with an officially sponsored leap year birthday parade and festival. In 1988, local resident Mary Ann Brown, a member of the Anthony Chamber of Commerce and born Feb. 29, proposed that the Anthony Chamber of Commerce host a festival centered on leap day. No other place has such an event. In February 1988, the Chamber of Commerce voted to sponsor the festival and declared Anthony, Texas, and Anthony, N.M., to be the joint “leap year capitals of the world.”

Things to do: Play leap frog. Watch the movie, “Leap Year,” with Amy Adams as Anna Brady traveling to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend. Listen to music by the Dutch progressive rock group, Leap Day, founded Feb. 29, 2008. Look for specials for leap day birthday celebrants. Write a letter to yourself about what you hope to accomplish by the next leap year and open it in 2020. Start performing random acts of kindness. New York’s Saratoga Chamber of Commerce sponsors Leap of Kindness Day with community organizations helping people.

Source: www.timeanddate.com and other online sources