AisleDash

It's 2008 - women pop the question all the time. However, you much prefer tradition. So you've patiently waited for him to pop the question.

And waited ... and waited.

If you're tired of waiting, you're in luck - 2008 is a leap year so you don't have to wait anymore. Why? Because February 29 is traditionally the day that women propose marriage to men.

Legend says that this tradition started when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for men to propose to them. So St. Patrick said that women could propose every four years, on February 29th. (Legend also says that he received a proposal the very next leap year - from St. Bridget herself!)

If religious tradition isn't enough to convince you, how about some legal reasoning? In old English Law, February 29 had no legal status so people assumed that traditions could be ignored on that day - traditions like women having to wait for men to propose marriage. Scotland even passed a law in 1288 that not only allowed women to propose marriage on February 29 but also imposed fines on men who declined a marriage proposal in a leap year! (Fines ranged from a kiss to payment for a silk dress - very clever.)

Go ahead and propose on the 29th - it's traditional!