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Leap Year Day 1908 - vintage postcard photo

Leap Year Day 1908 - vintage postcard photo

In times past, it was traditional to send colorful postcards in celebration of the various holidays or celebrated events. This vintage postcard is an early 1900's example of a card for February 29th, 1908 Leap Year Day. A common theme of the time was a supposed tradition that single women were free on Leap Year Day to pursue the man of their dreams and to propose marriage. A later but similar tradition was Sadie Hawkins Day and Sadie Hawkins Dances where the single young ladies invited the man of their choice to the dance. Sadie Hawkins Day and Dances were typically held annually in November and were the outgrowth of the cartoon strip, Li'l Abner where it was first mentioned in 1937. Sadie Hawkins Day Dances were especially popular during the 1940's through the late 1960's when their popularity all but vanished.

The verse on this Leap Year Day card (in the voice of the young woman) reads:

"Make haste! I'll be your guiding star;
Your mother sleeps; she does not guess;
Oh, fly with me; we'll journey far,
And all the sweets of love possess."

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