Because of my constant need to apply meaning to EVERYTHING, hence the subtitle of our blog, last Leap Year I was itching to find out why it is called “Leap Year.” The name implies that we are actually SKIPPING something when in reality we are ADDING a day. So, thanks to my best friend Google, I got busy with my research.
Hundreds of years ago the English didn’t know what to do with the extra day, so they just “leapt” over it. The day had no legal status. One result of having “no laws” for the day was that women would propose to men, which by law they normally were not allowed to do.
I’m glad that most people don’t know the origin of the day. Imagine the chaos if once every four years no laws were obeyed? Oh wait, I guess it would probably be like most any day in corporate America…or like EVERY SINGLE DAY in the White House.