Hoorah! February 29th is here…
A special day where us little ladies can take matters into our own hands and ‘pop the question’ so to speak. Maybe this thought fills you with utter dread or revulsion. Me? Propose to my boyfriend? Never!! Or maybe you’re just tired of waiting and you’re going
to take the plunge? You know he loves you, you know you have a future together, so why not propose to him!!?
I found these really cute vintage postcards depicting cartoon women proposing, some are really positive and sweet yet some depict women as desperate harridans… What’s your opinion? I would love to know.
Also ~ have you ever wondered about the origins of this tradition and how it all came to be? Me too! So I’ve done a little research on the olé ‘tinterweb’ and it seems as though
the true origins remain a little murky…
Theory 1
Theory 2
According to an old Irish legend, or possibly history, St Bridget struck a deal with St
Patrick to allow women to propose to men – and not just the other way around – every
4 years. This is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how Leap Day balances the calendar.
In some places, Leap Day has been known as “Bachelors’ Day” for the same reason.
A man was expected to pay a penalty, such as a gown or money, if he refused a marriage proposal from a woman on Leap Day. In many European countries, especially in the upper classes of society, tradition dictates that any man who refuses a woman’s proposal on February 29 has to buy her 12 pairs of gloves. The intention is that the woman can wear the gloves to hide the embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. During the middle ages there were laws governing this tradition.
Have you ever stopped to wonder what happens when a woman really does propose? Here’s Amanda {Ardley Weddings} true story on her leap year proposal… Brave lady
I salute you!
The Female Proposal
Alan and I started dating in 1989, we were 15 and childhood sweethearts. 16 years and two children later there was still no proposal from Alan… So, I decided it was time to take action.
On Saturday, 28th February whilst working at our computers… I suddenly blurted out, ‘Alan will you marry me?’ he turned to look at me and said, ‘You’re supposed to ask me tomorrow’ so I said ‘alright then, I will’.
The next day {on the 29th} I made Alan sweat all day, before asking him at around 7pm.
I turned to him and said again ‘Alan will you marry me?’ I really thought he would laugh and say no, but to my delight {and shock}, he said YES!
We married in August 2005, had our 3rd child in Oct 2006 and have been happily married ever since.
How sweet!! And congratulations Amanda!
Do you have a leap year proposal to share? What’s your opinion on this age old tradition? Love or loathe it? Let me know…
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