Silks of London

Leap Year Proposal – how did it come about and what are your thoughts?

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 agreed and allowed proposals every leap year day.  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. 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.

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. Believe it or not during the middle ages there were laws governing this tradition!!

In Greece, getting married in a leap year is considered inauspicious, and the relationship is thought likely to end in divorce. Women in Finland are advised to propose only on leap-year day 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 to warn her intended that she planned to pop the question.

According to recent figures many more women are proposing to their man on a Leap year. You can now read so many articles on how to propose to your man. However, personally, I would forever worry why my man didn’t get there first. Why he couldn’t commit first.  It would ruin it for me…what are your thoughts?