1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:09,040 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: show that takes a flying leap through history every day 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: of the week. I'm Gay Blues Yay, and today we're 5 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: talking about how the mathematical necessity of leap Day gave 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: rise to a romantic and somewhat progressive custom. The day 7 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: was February twenty ninth, twelve eighty eight. According to Scottish legend, 8 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: Queen Margaret passed a law allowing women to propose marriage 9 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: to men on Leap Day. As you probably know, the 10 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: shortest month of the year runs one day longer every 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,279 Speaker 1: four years, giving us February twenty ninth, or Leap Day. 12 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: The creation of this cyclicals pseudo holiday came about through 13 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: the combined efforts of ancient Roman emperor Julius Caesar in 14 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:10,919 Speaker 1: sixteenth century Pope Gregory the thirteenth. Both men were trying 15 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: to reform the inaccurate calendars of their heiress, and slipping 16 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: in an extra day every four years was their way 17 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: of accounting for a quirk of the Earth's orbit. We 18 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: tend to think of a year as exactly three hundred 19 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: and sixty five days but in reality it takes the 20 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: Earth about three hundred sixty five and a quarter days 21 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: to make a complete trip around the sun. Leap day 22 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: was a clever solution for making the calendar a line 23 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: with a true solar year, but as vital as it 24 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:43,960 Speaker 1: was for reforming the calendar, no one could have guessed 25 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: that it would also play a role in reforming the 26 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: social norms of marriage proposals throughout Eastern Europe and beyond. 27 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: There's a long standing tradition that on February twenty ninth, 28 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 1: the gender roles are reversed and the women ask the 29 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: men to marry them. The exact origins of the custom 30 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: are murky, to say the least, but the prevailing theory 31 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: is that it started in Ireland during the fifth century. 32 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: According to legend, it was on a February twenty ninth 33 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: long ago that Bridgid of Kildare paid a visit to 34 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: the Venerable Saint Patrick. The Catholic nun had been inundated 35 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: with complaints from single women whose intended husbands were taking 36 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 1: too long to pop the question, So, acting on their behalf, 37 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: Bridgid asked Saint Patrick to relax the church's strict gender 38 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 1: roles so that women would be permitted to propose marriage themselves. 39 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: Saint Patrick wasn't willing to go that far, but he 40 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 1: allegedly compromised by declaring that women could propose to men 41 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: once every four years on leap Day. At that point, 42 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:55,079 Speaker 1: Bridgid supposedly dropped to one knee and proposed to Saint Patrick, 43 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: and while he's said to have declined, he did at 44 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: least let her down gently by gifting her a silk 45 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: gown and a kiss on the cheek. It's worth noting 46 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: that most historians question whether this meeting ever really happened, 47 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: with many believing that Bridget of Killdare was actually a 48 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: composite of several different women rather than a single person. 49 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: If she was real, and if she did meet with 50 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: Saint Patrick, she likely would have been a young child, 51 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: making it even less likely that she would have raised 52 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: the issue of women's proposals, much less made one herself. Nonetheless, 53 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: the story of this likely made up encounter circulated throughout 54 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: Ireland and was later enshrined in Irish custom as Bachelor's Day. 55 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: From there, the concept is said to have been taken 56 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: to Scotland by Irish monks, where it was then adopted 57 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: into law in twelve eighty eight. The Leap Day legislation 58 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: didn't just formalize women led proposals. It also established a 59 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: fine system based on the consolation prizes that Saint Patrick 60 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: allegedly gave Britain. According to the Scottish law, any man 61 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,280 Speaker 1: who declined a proposal on leap Day had to pay 62 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: a penalty of clothing to the woman he jilted, usually addressed, 63 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: or even better, a pair of gloves so that she 64 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: could hide her embarrassment over not having an engagement reign. 65 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: The law was supposedly passed by Queen Margaret of Scotland, 66 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: also known as the Maid of Norway, but just like 67 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: with the meeting of Saint Patrick and Brigide, there's a 68 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:32,640 Speaker 1: lot of skepticism concerning the law and Margaret's involvement. For starters, 69 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: there's no written record of the law. There's mention of 70 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: it in other medieval writings, but the royal edict itself 71 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: is conspicuously missing. Even more suspect, though, is the fact 72 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: that Queen Margaret was only about five years old when 73 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: the law was said to have been passed. She had 74 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: ascended the throne two years earlier. After the passing of 75 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 1: her grandfather, King Alexander the Third of Scotland. None of 76 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: his children, including Margaret's mother, were alive at the time 77 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: of his death, so the Scottish lords controversially declared the 78 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:09,640 Speaker 1: infant Margaret as their queen. It's long been debated whether 79 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: Margaret should even be considered a true monarch of Scotland, 80 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,720 Speaker 1: especially since she lived in Norway, never visited Scotland, and 81 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: died just three years into her reign. Given all that, 82 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: it seems dubious that the young ruler would have made 83 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 1: it a priority to codify Saint Patrick's Declaration on marriage proposals. 84 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: But whether she did or didn't, the legend of the 85 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: law soon inspired the public to hold leap Year balls 86 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: and celebrations, where the women would ask the men to 87 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: dance and in some cases even to marry. Part of 88 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: the reason for the tradition's proliferation could be that leap 89 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: year was not yet recognized under English law. That meant 90 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: that February twenty ninth existed in a kind of legal limbo, 91 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: which may have made it seem more permissible to break 92 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: from social conventions on that unusual. In any case, the 93 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: custom spread all over Europe during the next several centuries. 94 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: By the sixteen hundreds, it had reached Denmark, where the 95 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: penalty for refusing a woman's proposal was twelve pairs of gloves, 96 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: and Finland, where the price was set at enough fabric 97 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: to make a skirt. The tradition lives on to a 98 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: lesser extent in all those places, and has even inspired 99 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: another pseudo holiday, in the forum of Sadie Hawkins Day. 100 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: In the US. Check out our November fifteenth episode on 101 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: cartoonist Al Capp to learn more about that one. Fortunately, 102 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 1: Western society is now at a point where we no 103 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: longer need a specific day to stomach the idea of 104 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: women proposing marriage. In general, people are free to propose 105 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: to whomever they like, whenever they like, though there are 106 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: still some egregious exceptions in some parts of the world. 107 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: Getting married on a leap day is considered unlucky in Greece, 108 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: and to be sure, leap day weddings do carry some 109 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:03,279 Speaker 1: disincentives in couples only get to celebrate their anniversaries every 110 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 1: four years, which means they get one fourth of the 111 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: gifts too. Of course, there's no such deterrent for getting 112 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: engaged on a leap Day. In fact, Saint Patrick or 113 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: Queen Margaret or whoever may have been onto something with 114 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: the idea of pairing love with leap Day. It could 115 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: be argued that the rare nature of the occasion makes 116 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: it the perfect time to pop the question. After all, 117 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,239 Speaker 1: finding someone to spend your life with is a rarity 118 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: as well, and just like with leap Day, by the 119 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: time the chance comes around again, you may not be 120 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: there to see it. Better to take the leap while 121 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: you still can't. I'm Gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now 122 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 123 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's episode, considered keeping up with us 124 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and 125 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to 126 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: send them my way by writing to This Day at 127 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 128 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 129 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History Class.