Leap Year Day

I always thought that since the Leap Day came only every four years that something should be made more of it in terms of celebrating its arrival. So far, for me it has a bit of a negative connotation, because it makes the bleakest and dreariest month of the year even one day longer.  It should signify something better.  At the very least it should be made a statutory holiday.  People who were born on the leap year day, I feel, should by rights have a four day long birthday celebration, starting February 29^th and lasting until March 3^rd, to make up for those lost years when their birthday couldn’t be formally commemorated with a date.  There should be some kind of traditional numerical theme involving the numbers 29 or 366.

I heard that in some countries that the leap day was the traditional occasion when women could be the ones to propose marriage.  That idea doesn’t bode well for me, but I do think that it is a day when people should try to do something unconventional and spontaneous. Just for the sake of helping ourselves to get unstuck out of our midwinter’s mental ruts. Wear a colour you wouldn’t otherwise dare to. Try doing the opposite of whatever it is that is your normal impulse to do. Maybe the Leap Year Day mascot could be George Costanza from Seinfeld. It might be a great day to challenge yourself in trying to confront things that give you anxiety and phobias, or daring to take a step forward in making a dream come true . . . taking a big leap ahead of some sort. A Leap Year Day feast should comprise of some kind of weird food that you have never sampled before in your entire life.

If there are gifts to be exchanged on this day, they should be centred around health and beauty products: because hey . . . you are given an extra day in the year to age through, you better do something to cover it up.

I’m open to other suggestions for creating and marketing this into another Hallmark holiday. Perhaps we’ll see something develop from here in another four years from now.