Many countries have a history behind the tradition, for example:
Women in Finland are advised to propose only on leap-year day -- Feb. 29 -- for good luck. If her boyfriend should refuse, he is required to pay her a "fine": enough fabric to make a skirt.
In Scotland, an unmarried Queen Margaret allegedly enacted a law in 1288 allowing women to propose on leap-year day. But there was a catch: The proposer had to wear a red petticoat (a skirt under her skirt) to warn her intended that she planned to pop the question.
Perhaps the most well-known of the leap-year marriage superstitions belongs to Ireland, where, again, women are advised to propose only on Feb. 29 for good luck. Legend has it that St. Brigid of Kildare, a fifth-century Irish nun, asked St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, to grant permission for women to propose marriage after hearing complaints from single women whose suitors were too shy to propose. Initially, he granted women permission to propose only once every seven years, but at Brigid's insistence, he acquiesced and allowed proposals every leap day. The folk tale suggests that Brigid then dropped to a knee and proposed to Patrick that instant, but he refused, kissing her on the cheek and offering a silk gown to soften the blow. The Irish tradition therefore dictates that any man refusing a woman's leap-day proposal must give her a silk gown.
Tradition aside, geoLads feeling like they need to get lost on the 29th of February this year are invited to attend this event and possibly avoid the dastardly occasion.
However, if the geoLadies out there would like to attend then that’s fine as well, who knows what might happen? And of course those who are already married are welcome as well…
Details -
Where: Willow Park, Wodonga (I’m sure you can work a GPS to get you there)
When: Monday 29th Feb, 7pm – 8pm