8 leap year traditions and superstitions from around the world (2024)

For the first time in four years, anyone born on 29th February – sometimes known as 'leaplings' – gets to celebrate their true birthday, given that 2024 is a leap year. On this extra leap day, there are certain customs that have stood the test of time, as well as some more quirky superstitions.

In some cultures, leap years represent opportunity. Elsewhere, leap days, months (and in some cases whole years) are considered bad luck and avoidance tactics are deployed to try and reverse any ill fortune.

Leap years continue to be a source of fascination for many, not least Chris Snowdon, a wellbeing campaigner from Shoreham, West Sussex, who this year started a petition to change the leap day to a warmer month. "Why have an extra day in February (cold, dark) when we could have an extra day in June (lovely summer)?" It remains to be seen whether Chris will succeed!

In the meantime, here a few leap year traditions from around the world...

In the UK, the 29th Feb is a day when it's decreed that women can propose to their partners. While the notion that it is the man's role to propose is outdated, many still choose to follow that tradition.

It's said to be an Irish custom that, according to legend, dates back to the 5th century. The story goes that Saint Brigid of Kildare thought that many women had to wait too long for a proposal. She agreed with Saint Patrick that women could propose every four years, known as Ladies' Privilege.

According to research from Guides For Brides, over a quarter of women would be keen to propose this leap year. The top reasons for women wanting to propose include surprising their partner (40%), not believing the view that only men can propose (39%), finding it empowering (17%), and getting fed up waiting on their partner to get down on one knee (14%).

In the birthplace of the leap day proposal – where the 29th is also known as Bachelor's Day – a refusal could be expensive. Historically, if the proposal was refused, the woman would have to be given a gift to compensate for the disappointment. This was said to be in the form of gloves, a silk gown or a fur coat. There are also records to suggest another penance: the refusing man may have had to perform a juggling trick on Easter Sunday.

Irish monks took the Ladies' Privilege tradition to Scotland and it is said to have been made law by Queen Margaret in 1288. There was an added quirk that women must wear a red petticoat when proposing. A refusal also demanded compensation: a monetary fine or like in Ireland, the gift of a silk dress or gloves.

Denmark also adopted the tradition but a man refusing had to give a woman twelve pairs of gloves to cover her ringless fingers. In Finland, the penance was the gift of fabric to make a skirt.

This is a nice one: in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, there's a tradition that on the eve of the 1st May, men decorate a birch tree with paper ribbons and put it out front of the house of their girlfriend, wife, or someone they have a crush on. This is reversed on a leap day, with women taking their turn.

In France, there's a newspaper that comes out every four years – on 29th February. La Bougie du Sapeur, which translates as Sapper's Candle, is named after a leapling character from an old French comic strip. The paper has been running since 1980 and remains extremely popular: come publication day, it usually outsells the other national papers.

In Taiwan, a leap year is considered bad luck for the elderly. On the 29th (or the whole month) married daughters return home to cook pig trotters for their parents, a dish said to bring them good fortune and a long life.

According to superstition, couples that get married in a leap year are more likely to divorce. Plus those that get divorced in a leap year are said not to find happiness for the rest of their lives.