How to Celebrate
Leap Day
We
all grew up learning the rhyme about the calendar: Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November. All the rest have 31, except February, which has 28.
Or does it? Turns out the earth revolves around the sun every 365 ¼ days, so if
we didn’t add on an extra day every four years, we’d eventually celebrate
Christmas in July!
So
what does Leap Day mean for most of us?
Well,
not a lot. (Except for those born on this day; then it means a BIG TIME PARTY
to make up for the past three years when the world decided to skip their
birthday.)
But
you don’t have to be born on Leap Day to celebrate the holiday. Here are some
suggestions on how to make the most of this “extra” day in our lives:
1.
It’s an old Irish tradition for women to ask men to
marry them on Leap Day. In Scotland, if a man refused a Lady’s proposal, he had
to either give her a kiss, a pair of gloves, or a silk dress.
So
get out there and ask a guy out. And guys, if you turn her down, you better
pick up that pair of leather gloves she’s been eyeing.
2.
Use the Internet to find the current address of an old friend who you haven’t
spoken to in over four years.
3.
Write the old friend a post card, then bring it to the post office and ask them
to hand-stamp it with the date. Since you’re going to the post office, bring
your old cell phones and eyeglasses.
Many
have bins where the phones will get sent to soldiers overseas and the eyeglasses
to those in need.
4.
Clean out all the email that’s been piling up, both at work and at home. Un-enlist from newsgroups and list serves that you no longer bother
to open mail from. Write down the user names and passwords you’ve chosen
for all the sites you visit. Keep this in a safe place.
5.
Make a Leap Day Cocktail, like the one created at London’s Savoy Hotel for a
Leap Day party in 1928. Share it with someone you love.
2
ounces gin
1/2
ounce Grand Marnier
1/2
ounce sweet vermouth
1/4
ounce fresh lemon juice
1
lemon twist, for garnish
Stir
and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the garnish.
For
those under 21, try this yummy and healthy treat:
1
scoop of vanilla ice cream or plain yogurt
1
banana
1
tablespoon of peanut butter
1
cup of ice
Blend
till frothy. Skip the garnish!
6.
Use this special day to do something special for someone else in your
community. Business suits you’ve outgrown or no longer wear?
Consider
organizing a corporate suit drive at your office. Contact www.careergear.org
for information.
Women
can donate their business clothes to the Dress for Success program that assists
low-income women looking for jobs.
Find
your local branch at www.dressforsuccess.org. Old prom dresses taking up room
in your closet? Bridesmaids dresses that you know you’ll never wear again no
matter how much the bride insists you can? Donate them all to the Glass Slipper
Project. Because of them, thousands of financially challenged girls each year
get to have their prom dreams come true. Go to www.glassslipperproject.org to
find an affiliated organization near you.
7.
Leap back in time and play a favorite game from your childhood. Teach it to a
new generation.
8.
Take 10 minutes and just stretch. It loosens the
ligaments and clears the pathways to the brain. You’ll be more limber AND
smarter!
9.
De-clutter one room. Then join your local freecycle
group and give away things you no longer use. You never know when someone might
be offering exactly what YOU need, too. To find your local group, go to www.freecycle.org.
10.
Check out the Internet’s largest Leap Day resource, www.leapyearday.com. You’ll
learn all about the origins of the holiday, where the best parties are around
the world, and fun facts about the history of the calendar.
Perhaps
the most interesting fact is that Pope Gregory XIII — the founder of the
Gregorian Calendar we all use today — decided to cancel the 10 days between
October 5, 1582 and October 14, 1582 in order to make up for too many extra
Leap Years. Ten whole days, whoosh! Gone.
Now
go out there and enjoy Leap Day 2008. And if you can’t do everything on this
list, you’ll get another chance in 1,461 days.