We wish to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Dwight "Gib" Hall who died recently.

He and his family worked tirelessly in helping to make our Highland Games successful.

He will be missed.

Leap Year has been the traditional time that women can propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is okay for a woman to propose marriage to a man. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.

It is believed that the tradition of women proposing on Leap Year Day was started in the 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. According to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during leap year.

According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage.

The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland supposedly passed a law that allowed women to propose to the man of their choice in that year. Tradition states they also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a leap year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves.

In the United States, some people have referred to the first Saturday in November as Sadie Hawkins Day with women being given the right to run after unmarried men to propose. Sadie Hawkins Day made its debut in Al Capp's comic strip Li'l Abner on November 15, 1937. Sadie was "the homeliest gal in the hills" who grew tired to waiting for the fellows to come a courtin'. Her father, a prominent resident of Dogpatch, was worried about Sadie living at home for the rest of his life, so he decreed the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day, a foot race in which the unmarried gals pursued the town's bachelors. By the late 1930's the event had swept the nation. Life Magazine reported over 200 colleges holding Sadie Hawkins Day events in 1939.

When Al Capp created the event, it was not his intention to have it occur annually on a specific date. However, due to its enormous popularity the event became an annual event in his strip during the month of November, lasting four decades.

The Druid Priests were in charge of a great deal of religious festivals, as well as organizing the Celtic calendar. This in itself was a daunting task as the Celtic calendar is incredibly accurate. However, it required a manual correction about every 40 years which meant dealing with a very lengthy and complex mathematical set of formulas to "correct" the calendar. Complicated Mathematics? Do we surmise that the ancient Celts were so advanced that they had such a clear understanding of higher math that would stump the average college math professor today? If they were so advanced in this area it is no wonder that they were so advanced in so many other areas such as metal working, the understanding of the laws of nature and more? Makes one wonder just how advanced these "barbaric" peoples actually were.

There are several different beliefs as to just what calendar the Celts used. Most archaeologist and historians hold to the "Coligny Calendar" theory. This calendar is represented by the surviving fragments of a great bronze plate which originally measured 5 feet by 3 – l/2 feet. The plate, found in eastern France, was engraved in the Gaulish language (similar to the Welsh language) in Roman-style numerals and letters. This calendar depicts a system of time-keeping by lunar months. It shows 62 consecutive months with 2 extra months inserted to match the solar timetable. It appears to have worked with a 19-year time cycle that equated 235 lunar months and had an error of less than half a day.

It is from ancient writers such as Caesar that we learn that the Celts counted by nights and not by days. Their unit of measure was the night followed by the day. The opposite of all the modern calendars. Ancient philosophy believed that all existence arose from the interplay between darkness and light (night and day), cold and warmth (seasons). Thus the passage of years was the alternation of dark periods (winter, beginning November 1) and light periods (summer, starting May 1).

The Celts measured the solar year on a wheel, circle or spiral. This all symbolized creation and the constant movement of the universe in growth and development. The Celts counted the days as starting at sun down and longer periods as 'x' (a number) nights, and months were counted in moons. Up until Georgian times, a week was expressed as a sennight (seven nights). Festivals were on the nearest moon, new or full depending on the festival. The length of the moon cycle is 28 and a bit days. This gives 12 moons in a normal solar year. Every 21 years there are 13 moons in the year and this is called a Great Lunar Year. The last one was 1993 so the next is 2014.

The Celtic year was divided into four main parts based on the farming cycle.

• Starting the New Year with the festival of SAMHAIN, when the world starts to darken into winter. The veil between the human world and the world of the dead becomes very thin. Ancestors cross over the veil to join in the feast. The following day had no name; this is to stop the spirits from being trapped in our world and to make the journey back over the veil. The modern date for this is 31 October and goes a long way to explaining the depiction of the ghosts at Halloween (All Hallows Eve).
• The end of winter and the start of the awakening of the world is marked by IMBOLC, which translated from the Celtic languages is "the lactation of the ewes". The birth of the first lamb means that there is once again fresh milk available and the proof of new life returning. The modern date for this is 2 February which in the Christian calendar is Candlemas.
• The liveliest festival of all is BELTAIN, the first day of summer, May 1. It was a time of partnerships and fertility. Couples would proclaim their love on this day. Animals were transferred from winter to summer pastures.
• The last major festival was the bringing in of the harvest, starting on the feast of LUGNASA. The festival lasted for a whole moon and was a celebration of the Gods providing all that was needed. The culmination of the festival was Harvest Home. This was the last load coming in from the fields.