Leap Day Around the World

The Father of Leap Year, Roman dictator Julius Caesar added one day in 46 B.C.E. that would occur every four years, to make up for the gaps in time between the ancient Roman calendar’s lunar and solar calendars. Ever since Caesar’s decree, most of us today use this calendar system. As with any event that occurs just once every four years, many cultures around the world have come up with their own special ways to celebrate Leap Day.

Women propose first

According to legend, one day in Ireland, St. Brigid took issue with the fact that women had to wait for men to propose to them. St. Patrick allowed one day every four years for women to propose to their men first. This is said to balance out traditional marriage roles, much as Leap Day balances out the calendar.

Bachelors’ Day

Going “hand-in-hand” with the tradition above, Leap Day is commemorated in some European countries as Bachelors’ Day. According to tradition, if a man refuses a woman’s marriage proposal on a Leap Day, he must buy her 12 pairs of gloves. This is supposedly so a woman can conceal the fact that she doesn’t have a ring on her finger!

Solar Calendars

It isn’t just the Gregorian calendar that uses leap years! The modern Iranian calendar uses a 33-year cycle solar calendar with 8 leap days throughout. As the Iranian calendar begins each year on the vernal equinox as observed from Tehran and Kabul, this actually makes the Iranian calendar much more accurate than the Gregorian.

Anthony, New Mexico/Texas

The bordering twin cities of Anthony, NM and Anthony, TX (which are now incorporated into Anthony, TX) is considered the Leap Year Capital of the World. In 1988, local resident and ‘Leapling’ Mary-Ann Brown began a Leap Day celebration, complete with a Worldwide Leap Year Birthday Club. Since 1988, over 400 ‘Leaplings’ have been invited to the Birthday Club, and members from all over the world have flown out to Anthony to celebrate this special birthday holiday at the Leap Year Capital!

In September 2015, the U.S. Congress voted and passed a rule change that would require interpreters seeking U.S. visas to give two years of service – increased from the original one year. For Afghan translators who have interpreted for the U.S. military and are applying for visas, this rule change could mean that they are no longer eligible to receive an American visa.

The rule change works retroactively, even for interpreters who submitted their visa application months – even years before the rule was passed. Advocates estimate that this retroactive change will affect over 3,000 Afghan veteran interpreters under threat from the Taliban.

Many of these interpreters volunteered with the U.S. military on dangerous missions, often unarmed and without any body armor. For these interpreters, a U.S. visa would protect them and their families. One veteran interpreter and visa applicant, who worked with the U.S. military for over seven years, received multiple letters of recommendation and certificates from military officials, dating his length of service for the U.S. military and praising his bravery and dedication.

Unfortunately, in 2014 the U.S. embassy in Kabul rejected his visa, citing “insufficient length of employment” and claiming that he failed to satisfy the retroactively applied two-year requirement.

Advocates for veteran interpreters say that the new rule change furthers complications in an already-inefficient system.

Attorneys are now working hard on these cases to give qualified and eligible Afghan interpreters the opportunity to seek refuge in the United States.