A leap year (or intercalary or bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.
A person born on February 29 may be called a leapling or a leaper. In common years they usually celebrate their birthdays on February 28 or March 1. In some situations, March 1 is used as the birthday in a non-leap year since it is the day following February 28. People born on February 29 are all invited to join The Honor society of Leap Year Day Babies.
Folk traditions:
- In Britain and Ireland, it is a tradition that women may propose marriage only on leap years.
- In Denmark, the tradition is that women may propose on the leap day, and that refusal must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves.
- In Finland, the tradition is that if a man refuses a woman's proposal on leap day, he should buy her the fabrics for a skirt.
- In Greece, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky. One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year.
- In Scotland, it used to be considered unlucky for someone to be born on Leap Day.
