It’s difficult to believe February is coming to a close. But even though March is nearly here, tomorrow (Wednesday) is Leap Day — an extra day added which makes the year 366 days long rather than 365 days.

Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days to circle once around the sun. If we didn’t add a day on Feb. 29 every four years, we would lose almost six hours every year. After 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days.

Along with Leap Year comes some fun traditions and superstitions, including an old Irish legend that allows women to propose marriage to men. In some places, Leap Day was also known as Bachelor’s Day, and a man was expected to pay a penalty if he refused a woman’s marriage proposal. Years ago in Europe, a man was expected to buy a woman 12 pairs of gloves if he refused her proposal, so she could hide the embarrassment of being turned down since there would be no ring on her finger. In Scotland, it was considered unlucky for someone to be born on Leap Day. In Greece, it was considered unlucky for a couple to be married during a Leap Year, especially on Leap Day.