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Friday, February 29, 2008

29th Feb 2008 is the day women CAN propose to men!

Hi guys!

I just realized its 29th Feb today! It only happen once every 4 yrs so i better post this today!

ok....refering to the title..........hehe....not that women cannot propose to men these days la....but according to tradition, today is the day when women can propose to men! If they can't wait any longer....heheee

I stumbled upon this blog in technocrati and i thought its very interesting........I never knew about this special tradition, or also known as Sadie Hawkins day.

So i read up about it a little at about.com. I'd like to share them with my readers here......

Leap Year 2008

Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.

St. Bridget's Complaint

It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year.

February 29th in English Law

According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage.

The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.

Sadie Hawkins Day

In the United States, some people have referred to this date as Sadie Hawkins Day with women being given the right to run after unmarried men to propose.

Sadie Hawkins was a female character in the Al Capp cartoon strip Li'l Abner. Many communities prefer to celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day in November which is when Al Capp first mentioned Sadie Hawkins Day.

Greek Superstition

There is a Greek superstition that claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year. Apparently one in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid planning their wedding during a leap year.


So ladies..........you can do it too!!! go ahead...today is your day....


Have a happy friday loves!

:o)

2 comments:

Sewjin said...

no need to spend so much on anniversary gifts!

Fashionasia said...

sewjin: oh nono....u aint getting away with that!! :0)