Last updated 10:16, Saturday, 29 March 2008

Leaping for joy: The tradition of women proposing to men during a leap year is said to have originated in Scotland

THE first documentation of the practice of women proposing to men during leap years dates back to 1288.

This is when Scotland’s Parliament under Queen Margaret passed a law allowing women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year.

They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must soften the blow by paying a fine, which could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.

There is a Greek superstition that claims couples have bad luck if they marry during a leap year and one in five engaged couples in Greece will avoid planning their wedding during a leap year.

In 1839, Queen Victoria proposed to Prince Albert at Windsor Castle because he was of a lower social standing than her. Although this wasn’t a leap year, they married in February 1840, which was.

n Turn to page 4 to find out how you could win a wedding dress by telling Cumbrian Weddings about your romantic proposal.