The Privilege of Ladies

Any calandar year which is divisible by four is a designated leap year, and it contains an extra day that is added to the end of the month of February. The celebration of each leap year is strangely observed only on that 29th day of February. Today.

Legend has it that this day marks the Privilege of Ladies, the time-honored folk tradition which allows a female to either propose to or ask to date any unmarried man of her choosing. This privilege is claimed by some to have its roots back to St. Patrick, when St. Bridget complained about her inability to request a man's company. He proposed an option for every seven years, but she negotiated it to four.

Back in the 1937, a footrace for Sadie Hawkins Day made its debut in Al Capp's Li'l Abner strip. Sadie Hawkins was "the homeliest gal in the hills" who grew tired of waiting for the fellows to come a courtin'. Her father, Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent resident of Dogpatch, was even more worried about Sadie living at home for the rest of his life, so he decreed the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day, a foot race in which the unmarried gals pursued the town's bachelors, with matrimony the consequence. By the late 1930's the event had swept the nation and had a life of its own. Life magazine reported over 200 colleges holding Sadie Hawkins Day events in 1939, only two years after its inception. (Snopes.com)

The day will pass silently here in Regency Cove. Of course, it's up to you, Ladies. Have a nice day, Gentlemen!