Happy(?) Leap Day

While astronomy and its arcana don't particularly interest me -- whatever interest I have in science fiction doesn't seem to carry over to fact -- the concept of a leap (or intercalary) year, the "extra" day and the history and lore surrounding both have suddenly and inexplicably become fascinating. The mere fact that, as we are reminded, the duration of the solar year is 365 and a quarter days, or more accurately, 365.2425 days or 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds, seems relevant to me only as the basis for social and cultural responses to both our calendar's imperfection and its necessary corrective. (Perhaps I'll add this current preoccupation to my long list of obsessions/compulsions that includes, among other disparate items, the ongoing election cycle, crossword puzzles and my short-lived all-beef jerky diet. Don't ask.)

Until recently, today in fact, I did not appreciate the historical import and potential of leap year. Most importantly to my mind, during leap years in earlier centuries, women in certain countries were permitted, against otherwise prevailing law and custom, to propose marriage to the (unmarried) man of their choice. The man who refused might face punishment in the form of a fine or the like. Fearing such levies, the advances of an unappealing mate or, in some cases, presumably, the brazen overtures of any woman whatsoever, men sometimes succeeded in limiting the legal exercise of this special "freedom" to Leap Day, February 29. (Even as a single-day affair, it is distinct from Sadie Hawkins Day, which didn't exist before the 1930s.) The following postcards, generated (I think) well after the rejection of a woman's marriage proposal carried any legal consequences, nonetheless capture the residual insensitivity, anxiety and perceived risk associated with a practice in which women assumed a traditionally male prerogative:

This next card is a doozy, conveying a historical practice that temporarily reversed the "natural" order only to reinforce it, that became, in effect, an exception that proved a rule: The women here appear desperate, predatory (notice the teeth on that bear trap -- yikes!) and, in one case, a bit mannish (as evidenced by a phallic holstered gun and what appears to be a pipe). The none-too-subtle message seems to be, "Hey, fellas, wouldn't we be in dire straits if this state of affairs wasn't temporary (or merely a joke) and became the norm?!?"
Anyway, the archaic language of this excerpt captures the flavor of female-initiated marriage better than I can:

And, for the record, I'm open to offers from women of "high estate" -- but low taste.

As mentioned, this tradition has not always been -- and need not be -- limited to Leap Day but may extend through the end of the year. Therefore, ladies, you have only about 300 more days in which to pounce. Tick, tick.

This month has been exceedingly tough, what with its competing and confusing demands for romance (Valentine's Day), patriotism (Presidents' Day), equality (Black History Month) and, in this leap year, vestigial sexism. Good riddance, February.

Then again, March looms like a long, brutal slog . . . . Wait, February! Come back!! All is forgiven!