Return to the Hiding place//February 29th--Leap Day!

Guys. Okay, so I watched Return to the Hiding Place with my two of my sisters last night. Can I just say that I completely loved that movie? Like, I have a library copy and I'm planning on never returning it. Wait, I can't do that? Noooo!!!
Alright, I'll try to settled down. ;P But if you ever watch the movie, trust me, you'll understand. This past week I was telling my mom how much I wished a christian film-making company would produce a film set in the WWII era. This came after I survived waded my way through the movie Pearl Harbor. While it had some good moments, the majority of it was. . .not good. I mean, it was a war movie. From a secular POV. Rated PG-13. The cussing, the inappropriate scenes, all that. After I "finished" it, I went on and on about how much I wanted a Christian movie that had the same kind of action and history, but without all the negative influences.
Well, last night, I found that movie. Think Beyond the Mask, or Alone yet not Alone.  Pearl Harbor combined with Bonhoeffer. I honestly don't know how to adequately describe it.
Lats night after the movie was finished, my sister turned to me and she's like "You're going to tell all your friends about it, aren't you?" I was like "Haha, nope. I'm going to write a blog post about it." ;)
It's a great family movie, and we enjoyed it so much. As a caution, it is rated PG-13. There is some torture, and in one scene something that is implied is rather sickening. But through all the horror and chaos, the love of Christ shines through so beautify. Hope shines through the pain. And the salvation message is shared in a way that is just so clear. And all in all it's just a heart-wrenchingly beautiful movie. I cried, but that's not all so unusual. I tend to cry with a lot of movies. ;P However, my sister said it was the first movie where she actually got teary-eyed. And if you know my sister, that's extremely rare! And it just shows how much the movie could affect you. Seriously, it will change the way you look at a lot of things, and it will challenge you in your walk with the Lord.
So yeah. Just watch it and then tell me what you think.

Alright. . .now onto the real reason I was going to do a post today. (Yes, I did have a more normal post planned before the movie. ;P)
It's leap day! *leaps around the room* This day only comes once every four years, folks. Enjoy it. ;) And since  it's leap day, I thought it was fitting to include some facts about leap day. Some of them are rather strange, but hey, that's what makes them fun. . .right? Some of them made me laugh!  Like this first one. . .

1. In Ireland, the 29th of February is called Bachelors day, when women are allowed to propose to men. Queen Margaret of Scotland began the tradition in 1288. If a man refused the proposal, he would be fined a kiss, a silk dress or 12 pairs of gloves.

2. According to a tale dating back to fifth century Ireland, St Brigid complained to St Patrick that women had to wait too long for men to propose marriage, and so he decided that in a leap year, women could take the initiative. However, if some sources are to be believed, Brigid was still a girl when Patrick died, which would make her a very precocious child!

3.One in five engaged couples in Greece will plan to avoid getting married in a leap year. They believe it is bad luck.

4.  Two women have given birth to three leap day babies, according to the New York Daily News. The Henriksen family from Norway had their children on leap days in 1960, 1964 and 1968. The most recent family to tie the record is the Estes family from Utah. Their children were born in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

5.  The chances of having a birthday on a leap day are about one in 1,461.

6. If we didn’t have leap day, the calendar would be off by about six hours every year – after 100 years, the calendar would be off by around 24 days.

 7. US Presidential elections and Summer Olympic Games are both held every
 four years and occur in the Leap Year.

8. The town of Anthony, Texas, organizes a leap year festival. It proudly calls itself the leap year capital of the world and leap year “babies”, or leaplings, around the world come to its parade.

9.  The Romans first designated February 29 as leap day, but a more precise formula (still in use today) was adopted in the 16th century when the Gregorian calendar fine-tuned the calculations to include a leap day in years only divisible by four - 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, etc. Another stipulation ruled that no year divisible by 100 would have a leap year, except if it was divisible by 400. *Thus, 1900 was not a leap year ... but 2000 was!


And. . .I came across this fun leap-year poem. ;)

 Thirty days hath September,
April, June and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Save February, she alone
Hath eight days and a score
Til leap year gives her one day more.


Well, now you know some fun (and rather crazy) facts about leap day. I hope you all have an amazing day! How are you spending your leap day? I'll be spending mine editing and reading. ;) Well, editing, reading, and enjoying the  gorgeous spring weather we're having! :D

Happy Leap Day!