Satvika Nitya / A&C Editor

For all the times you’ve yearned to have an extra 24 hours added to your life, 2024 is set to fulfill this once-in-a-lifetime wish – or once every four years. The end of February brings us closer to Leap Day on the calendar, Feb. 29, that makes its appearance every four years. This day with its quadrennial occurrence also comes with its own traditions, superstitions and activities.

For many, this extra day of the year is a sign of luck that is marked with oddly specific stories and events. In France, to celebrate the arrival of Leap Year, a satirical newspaper called “La Bougie du Sapeur,” or “Sapper’s Candle” is published every four years, only on Feb 29. So though the paper has been running for over 40 years, with its first edition out in 1980, it has only had eleven editions out, and 2024 will mark its twelfth.

The paper started out as a joke between two friends, Jacques De Buisson and Christian Bailly, and has now turned into a 20-page journalistic entry, filled with puns, jokes, notes, wordplay and interviews — both true and false — commenting on the news from the last four years. Despite the paper’s low frequency of publication, it sold over 200,000 copies when it was last published in 2020.

Following the footsteps of this Leap-Day-exclusive newspaper is the equally exclusive, Leap Day cocktail invented in 1928 by Harry Craddock, who was a bartender at the Savoy Hotel in London. It was featured in his 1930 cookbook with the notation: “It is said to have been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail that’s ever been mixed.” All you need if you’re over 21, is gin, vermouth, Grand Marnier and lemon juice.

And if a cocktail is just the beginning for you, then celebrations in Anthony, a town at the Texas-New Mexico border also known as the “Leap Year Capital of the World,” might sound like a good idea. A multi-day festival that was initially pitched in 1988 by Mary Ann Brown and Birdie Lewis who were both born on Leap Day, the festival celebrates those born on Feb. 29 with a special dinner, musical performances, good food and games.

Leap Year’s luck is considered to extend even to animals. In Reggio Emilia, a province in northern Italy, Leap Years are known as “I’ann d’ la baleina” or the whale’s year. Locals “believe” that whales only give birth during a leap year.

But not everyone thinks of Leap Year as being lucky. In fact, many cultures look at the year or Leap Day as bringing misfortune. In Taiwan, it’s a commonly held belief that elderly parents die every four years, during a leap year. To promote a longer life and prevent this misfortune, married daughters return home during leap years with pig trotter noodles, because it’s believed that the dish is delicious enough to grant aging parents good health and fortune.

The Leap Year is also harsh on farmers, with superstitions always pointing to an unfavorable season for crops any time Feb. 29 joins the dates on the calendar. However, most superstitions, traditions and stories that exist surrounding Leap Year are regarding marriage.

Though women can also propose marriage whenever they please today, fifth-century Ireland legally only allowed men the right to propose marriage. The arrival of the Leap Day was the one exception where women were allowed to propose marriage, and this was only possible after a deal was brokered between Irish nun Saint Bridget of Kildare – who complained the women had to wait too long for men to pop the question – and the nation’s saint, Saint Patrick.

Though this might sound like a jackpot in the women’s luck department, this Leap Day tradition looked unlucky for many men. To make it easier for the women to propose, all countries that observed this tradition came up with different punishments for men who rejected proposals. In Scotland, any man who rejected a marriage proposal would be fined anywhere between £1 and a silk gown. In Denmark, the price was 12 gloves and in Finland, it was enough fabric to make a new skirt. Today, these traditions have become whimsical gestures done for the sake of a joke.

On the other end of leap year marriage superstitions is Greek culture, where any marriage that occurs on Feb. 29 is seen as being imposed with bad luck and destined to end in divorce. Greeks believe that getting married on Leap Day curses not just your marriage but also your love life, since you will never be able to find love. 

The curse of the Leap Day is also said to extend to those born on Feb. 29. Those whose birthdays fall on this rare occurring day are called “leaplings” or “leapers,” and in some cultures, being a leapling is considered to give you a terrible fate. 

USD sophomores Angelina and Tiana Belway who are twin leaplings turning five this leap day talked about growing up with a birthday that comes around every four years.

“I don’t think we celebrate [leap year birthdays] more but it’s definitely a lot more special  to us because we’ve waited four years for it, for the actual date to happen,” Tiana Belway said. “We’re turning 20 this year, or I guess five, so we’re having our friends over and we’re getting the number five put on our cake. It’s almost like a children’s party.”

The pair also talked about common questions they’ve heard as leaplings. 

“There’s so many things we’ve heard from others and it’s mainly questions about how old we actually are,” Angelina Belway said. “And another question we get is about what day we  celebrate our birthday on regular years since  it’s on a day that doesn’t exist really. And for us, that day is March 1 and we consider it our ‘February 29’.”

Superstitions  that induce good or bad luck surrounding  leap years or days have no way to be confirmed. But there are some interesting historical events that have coincided with  the rare occurring leap year.

1912, which is famously known as the year the Titanic sank, was a leap year and so was 64 A.D., the year that Rome burned down. The most infamous leap year that has recently been added to this list is the year 2020, the year that saw the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There are also definitely some positive historical incidents that have occurred on leap years. 1752 was the leap year when Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity and 1848 was the leap year when gold was discovered for the first time in California.  

Though these historical events, traditions and superstitions have surrounded leap years for decades and do not have a direct correlation with the rare occurring Feb. 29, the 2024 Leap Year has brought in some special attention, due to its uncanny resemblances to 2020. 

Many on the internet have pointed out how 2020 and 2024 are mirrors of one another: both being leap years, having Biden and Trump as presumptive Presidential candidates and  watching the Chiefs win in the Super Bowl against the 49ers. Since there are so many running similarities, the running joke is to see what corresponds to the COVID-19 pandemic this year. Depending on whether the Leap Year brings you luck or misfortune, you can close your eyes and manifest the rest of the year of 2024.

The front page of the ‘La Bougie du Sapeur’ published in 2020.
Photo courtesy of @emmanuelledebeauregard/Instagram