What are you doing Feb. 29? We have this bonus day but once every four years so I suggest something really special. Too bad it falls on a Thursday, because partying is definitely in order — except if you need to be somewhere early Friday morning. Maybe you can take Friday off and leap into a long lovely weekend.
Leap Year carries with it some interesting cultural baggage, especially regarding marriage. I know what I am about to describe may sound completely ridiculous to people under 50 because not that many cohabitating couples get married these days. That’s a relatively new phenomenon. When I was young, living together without the benefit of matrimony was way past scandalous. You just didn’t set up housekeeping until you were married.
That being said, the archaic rules of courtship were simple. If a man wanted a housemate (wife), he had to do the proposing, she had to do the accepting, and her father had to do the approving. It was not a slam dunk. I knew girls who turned down guys and fathers who rejected their daughters’ choices. Yes, as hard as it is to believe today, it was not that unheard of for a young woman to walk away from Mr. Right because Mr. Daddy said no.
There was one exception to the process of how these life-altering contract negotiations could be conducted, but it could only occur on Feb. 29. On that day, women could do the proposing. Yes, it happened. One of my friends was madly in love; the couple seemed perfect for each other. Birthdays and Valentine’s Days and Christmases passed, but no ring.
Finally, she got tired of waiting for her bashful beau to propose and took advantage of this one-every-four-years opportunity. Instead of waiting for her man to take a knee, she set the nuptial wheels turning to get the matrimonial show on the road. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary last year.
So how did the Leap Year tradition allowing for this one-day switcheroo begin? Well, Leap Year was not recognized in English Law so the day was simply “leapt over” and ignored. Because the extra day had no legal status, formal traditions did not apply. One of the results was that women were free to pop the question. It made sense in another way. Leap Year fixes a mistake in the calendar so it was the perfect time for women to correct a silly, one-sided, totally unfair tradition of giving men all the power in proposing marriage.
Not that the Leap Year custom didn’t have its own silly, one-sided, unfair aspects. In 1288, Queen Margaret of Scotland decreed that on Feb. 29 a woman could propose, but only if she wore a red petticoat to signal her intentions. Talk about a crimson warning label. In addition, if a man turned the woman down, he had more than hell to pay. In higher European social circles, he had to buy her 12 pairs of gloves so she could hide the humiliation of everyone seeing she was ring-less.
I never needed to wait for Feb. 29 to snag a husband. I had a better strategy: Grandma Schmidt’s famous apple strudel. Yup. It was foolproof and netted five proposals and two husbands. I imagine the three men I spurned were haunted by the memory of that buttery crust oozing with sweet cinnamon-laced apple filling, baked to golden perfection and spread with a powdered sugar glaze, served warm with vanilla ice cream. OK, more likely they thanked God for unanswered prayers.
You don’t have to be in the husband-hunt to make and enjoy this special treat.
So, single ladies, carpe diem on Thursday or make your guy some apple strudel. Either way, you might snag yourself a groom. Just remember what number two husband Jon always says: “Marriage is a great institution — but who wants to live in an institution?” Happy Leap Year.
APPLE STRUDEL
Crust: Stir 3/4 teaspoon salt into 2 1/2 cups white flour; cut in 1 cup butter. Add 3 medium egg yolks blended with 1/2 cup cold milk. Mix like pie crust; chill at least two hours.
Divide dough in half. Roll out one half and carefully place in 11-inch-by-17-inch pan, building up the sides. Mix 7 cups pared, sliced apples with 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Put apples in pan; roll out and cover with other crust. Crimp edges together, prick top crust all over with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, make icing (1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla). Drizzle and spread over strudel while it is very warm. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a thick slice of cheddar cheese.
Kathleen Marsh is a lifelong educator, writer, and community advocate. She has published eight books, four on the history of Townsend, where she and husband Jon are happily retired on the beautiful Townsend Flowage.
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