It’s the end of February already and it’s a leap year.
A leap year simply put, is a year that has a total of 366 days instead of 365 days. This also means the conventional 28 days in February becomes 29 days.
The leap year comes once in four years, hence, people and customs from different parts of the world have diverse beliefs and reservations about February 29th.
These beliefs and traditions are myths and have no scientific proof as at the time of this article. However, some of these myths haven gained grounds over the years because they coincidentally happen and fit in to these century-long beliefs.
Here are some of the myths;
Proposal Permission
One common myth is that women are only permitted to pop the ‘question’ to males on February 29th. Although certain civilizations do follow this custom, ladies! You can propose to your beau any day, any time! There are no rules!
The ‘Bad Luck’ Year
There is a belief in certain communities that leap years bring tragedy or ill luck. This is only a myth, as there is no scientific proof. Who will see shege will see shege, leap year not!
Birthday Celebrations
The third common misperception on the list is that people who are born on February 29th have different birthdays during non-leap years. Actually, they usually claim either February 28th or March 1st as their official birth date. We would be jealous of them if only they didn’t age in non-leap years. LOL!
Negative Events
Some myths suggest that unusual or negative events are more likely to occur during leap years. Even as there’s no scientific evidence to support this idea, Nigerians can’t help but gravitate towards this myth. The reason is not farfetched from the fact that every leap year, there’s a mass problem Nigerians face. 2020 was COVID, 2024 is economic hardship. Hopefully, the coast will be clear in 2028!
Good Luck
This myth might come off to you as contradictory, seeing as we mentioned earlier that some people believe the leap year comes with ill luck. Notwithstanding, there is a myth that the leap year brings good luck to people who engage in activities on February 29th. So, if you’re looking to have your wedding on this special day, just like Moses Bliss and Marie Wiseborn, we hope this myth becomes a fact for you!