Happy Leap Day! The bizarre extra day we get every four years to keep our calendar in sync with the sun … What are you doing with your bonus day? I’m hoping to be hopping across the pickleball court. In the meantime, here are some Leap Day fun facts along with where to pick up your Leap Day donut in PDX!
In British and Irish customs, Leap Day is a popular day for women to propose to men. In Greece, however, it’s considered unlucky to get married in Leap Year!
Not proposing? How about eating a donut instead. Voodoo Donuts recently teased their leaper-themed frog donut for the big day:
At McMenamins you can participate in the scavenger hunt for frog art to enter into a drawing for a free night’s stay. Their Leap Day $10 drink special (Penney’s Gin, Cheshire Orange and Sweet Vermouth) sounds good too so let’s take their advice: “Because on this magical, disappearing day, there’s no such thing as calories.”
Anthony, Texas (in El Paso Co.) designated itself the “Leap Year Capital of the World” in 1988. In addition to parade festivities, they also established the Worldwide Leap Year Birthday Club to give February 29th babies a special celebration.
People born on February 29th are called “leaplings” or “leapers” and here are some notable Feb. 29 birthdays:
Gioachino Rossini – the Italian composer most famous for the “William Tell Overture” & “The Barber of Seville.”
And finally, on this day in 1940, Hattie McDaniel made history as the first Black actor to win an Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind.
Happy Leap Day!
Susie Knows PDX 