23 Forgotten American Holidays & Traditions

Like its cousin Sadie Hawkins Day, leap-year proposals turned courtship norms upside down. Before the Women’s Liberation Movement, leap years gave women an opportunity to pop the question every February 29th. According to tradition, the man had to give the woman a silk dress or pay a fine if he rejected her proposal. It’s weird to think that women had one day when they were allowed a rare moment of empowerment in romantic matters.