As a society, we are missing a spectacular opportunity with Leap Year.
In the United States, we are fine coming up with reasons to celebrate nearly everything we consume with little to no basis.
In 1979, someone (I’m going to assume Gregg) from Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point, NJ, came up with an idea. One can only imagine the only thing Gregg loved more than tacos was alliteration, or maybe he just needed a way to get rid of excess ground beef. I prefer the former. Forty-five years later, we are still celebrating Taco Tuesday weekly.
National Pig Day, Fruit Compote Day, Cold Cut Day, and Mulled Wine Day are all celebrated in the first week of March.
Mulled wine? Rarely do people emphatically ask, “Do you serve mulled wine?” More frequently, you’ll order an actual drink only to find out mulled wine is the sole option, to which we all respond, “That’s fine.” It’s like when you order a Coke, and the server tells you they have Pepsi. It gets the job done, but you’re making a sacrifice.
So, how is it we can take the time to celebrate mulled wine but not take advantage of an extra day showing up on the calendar every four years?
At the very least, we should all stop to appreciate how the need for a leap day was discovered by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE. Of course, it has significantly evolved since then, but that doesn’t change the fact that had I existed in 45 BCE, there is no way I would have come up with it, let alone understand it.
Yet, we are not all dressing in togas for all the Leap Day toga parties tonight. Not even Caesar’s Palace has a mention or promotion tied to the day. Et tu?
We could have an official animal of leap day, a tree frog, for instance. Maybe a dolphin? Every four years, we could all laugh at Australia because they would undoubtedly use the number one thing everyone in the world thinks of when they think about the continent.
My vote is the tree frog. I even wore green in solidarity today. Dolphins get enough attention. This is not to say I don’t get excited and giggle every single time I see a dolphin.
Tree frogs are like miniature Spider-Men, which is cool, just not every year cool. However, taking a day every four years to stop and marvel at tree frogs feels about right. Not to mention the fact we’re all breaking out green clothes and decorations to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in two weeks. A holiday we all celebrate with vigor, yet most people (myself included) couldn’t give you the correct answer as to why we all drink to excess on March 17th every year.
We could make the day about gathering with extended family. Something we all are annoyed by to some extent. Yet, every year, we complain about our relatives and their nonsense come Thanksgiving, only to return to the misery less than a month later.
Celebrating Leap Day with extended family means you could save time, money, and frustration on two of the most celebrated holidays. Who knows, maybe your drunk, racist Uncle who can only talk politics won’t make it another four years. I am not saying I wish that upon anyone; I am just trying to highlight the possible perks of making Leap Day a bigger deal in our culture.
There should be social media posts comparing previous Leap Years. Let’s set Leap Year resolutions and goals to get where we want to be in our lives by 2028.
Imagine it’s 2028, Tuesday morning, February 29. You wake up and realize you don’t have to go to work because Leap Day is a National Holiday. You felt it, didn’t you? The twinge of relief, like waking up on Saturday morning thinking it’s a weekday and immediately realizing it’s Saturday.
You go to the bathroom to get ready for the big day. The vibes are already on target, so you opt to listen to Jump by Kriss Kross (if you’re a millennial) or Jump by Van Halen (Gen X, looking at you now) or Jump In The Line by Harry Belafonte (ok, Boomer) or Jump Around by House of Pain (that’s for you Wisconsin, you unoriginal bastards).
You get dressed in your Tree Frog-themed gear. You can’t wait to see friends and family as you take the first drink of your Jump Up and Kiss Me cocktail. I’ve never had a Jump Up and Kiss Me, but it has to be at least as tasty as Mulled Wine.
Maybe you’ll take the family to the Leap Day parade and see the next Leap King and Queen crowned. From there, you go to the tree climbing contest, a celebration of the official mascot of Leap Day. You notice as you observe the crowd of people laughing and talking the occasional head pops up in the air, as it is tradition to jump and kiss your date or significant other when you finish your Jump Up and Kiss Me.
Eventually, you make your way home to prepare your Leap Day Dinner. Traditions vary from home to home on the dish’s feature, but it is a true Leap Year feast once the Mexican jumping beans are hopping on the table.
After dinner, you head to the living room to watch 21 Jump Street (TV series or movie, depending on your generation) or White Men Can’t Jump before bed.
My point is we need to claim the day. We need to start a revolution. We shouldn’t get an extra 24 hours and use it by doing the same old, same old.
Let’s get the ball rolling and try to remember this in four years.
I probably won’t.
Oh, I guess I get why it’s not a bigger deal.
Cheers.