This year, 2012, is a Leap Year. As we all well know, this means that February is one day longer, 29 days, as opposed to the usual 28. This is done to keep the calendar year in sync with the seasonal year. I guess that over time, things would just drift out of order. Eventually, snow on the 4th of July?!
In ancient cultures, women could propose marriage only in Leap Years. Marriages in Leap Years have always been considered to be lucky. So I think of the loving couple in Le Cantique des Cantiques, Marc Chagall’s romantic poster and of the passionate couple in the movie poster, Marriage a l’Italienne and hope that both tied the knot in a leap year!
The summer Olympic Games take place in Leap Years. Actually, until 1992, so did the Winter Games. So I reflect on how Serge Poliakoff and Saul Bass captured the power of the Summer Olympics in their posters, Munich Olympic Games and XXIII Olympiad.
While an extra day in February does actually mean an extra day of winter, look what we have in store, happy marriages and the Summer Olympics! Enjoy!