Her Turn: Leap Year Proposal Traditions

Lore has it that the tradition of women asking for a man’s hand in marriage started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick that women had to wait too long for a man to propose marriage. As Feb. 29th existed to fix a problem with the calendar and was considered to have no legal status, St. Patrick remedied the problem by giving all the single ladies permission to propose on that one day.

Documentation from the late 13th century confirms the practice in Scotland when a law was allegedly passed that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice on a leap year day. Supposedly the law also included fines for refusal to marry, ranging from a kiss to a silk dress or pair of gloves. It sure makes me wonder how the fine was actually levied and the percentage of jilted who would have picked a kiss from a guy who said “no” over lovely formalwear.

While there are plenty of strict traditionalists who argue that a proposal is still a man’s role, comments and feedback from the general public about women doing the asking of their targeted-betrothed indicate that it is becoming more and more acceptable for her to take the reins. Here are a few success stories from PriceScope’s proposal discussion board by some question-popping ladies:

“We went ring shopping last week, and he thought it would be fun to be proposed to, and I agreed. (I hate surprises, he loves them)”

“…we proposed on the same day, me first, him later. Most of his friends are only aware that I proposed to him…and all gape over his ring just like what usually happens to the female part of the couple.”

Read More about the Leap Year Proposal Tradition Here