Leap into March With Creamline
Ah, that special day of 29th February is nearly upon us once more. A time for forty year olds who insist that officially they’re only ten to celebrate their birthdays. How time flies, it seems like only four years ago that we were making the same jokes.
In celebration of the day, we’ve put together a few
interesting facts for you to learn more about this most bizarre of days:
Why Are There Leap
Years?
It takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds for the Earth to circle around the Sun. However, the Gregorian calendar that we use in the West only recognises 365 days – this means that all the extra time goes unrecognised, leading to a loss of nearly six hours every year. Leap years take this extra time into consideration and cancel it out.
Leap Year Birthdays
People that celebrate their birthdays on 29th February are known as ‘leapers’. Most of course celebrate their birthday instead on either the 28th February or 1st March – there’s not many of us that have the luxury of the choice to celebrate their birthday on two different days (okay, except maybe if you’re the Queen!)
Some famous people born on 29th February include the poet Lord Byron and the rapper Ja Rule. They’re a rare breed: the chance of being born on this day is 1 in 1461!
Women Proposing
Perhaps the most well-known of all the leap day traditions, in various European nations, is the traditional of women proposing to marry on 29th February. Whilst some may perceive that culturally times are changing and it’s now much more usual for women to propose on any day – the statistics suggest differently as less than one in twenty marriages are started by a woman proposing.
Another part of this tradition applied to men; those who rejected the marriage proposal of a woman on the 29th February would be forced to buy the same woman twelve pairs of gloves. The logic behind this strange request? The gloves were supposed to represent hiding the woman’s fingers, which would have no engagement ring perched upon them.
Creamline Leap Year
Recipe
Here at Creamline, we want to get involved in turning the tables too – so perhaps if you’re not a woman looking to propose, then you can still try out one of our recipes which take a different view too.
Think of homemade ice cream and your mind will most likely conjure up ideas of hours toiling over a complicated recipe which will take hours to mix. Our No Churn Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream recipe turns ice cream making on its head: it’s quick, easy, uses only a few ingredients and you guessed it – it doesn’t require any churning!
