The Last Untainted {Leap Day}

Congratulations on getting through Leap Day 2024. I presume you didn’t step into any portals that wormholed you to another dimension, nor did you take that hobbyist glider off the cliff. Ideally, it was a fairly demure, maybe even productive, extra day.

One thing I am sure about your day, is that it was untainted by Big Commercialism.

Maybe it’s because it only pops up every four years, but Leap Day is the last remaining “holiday” that hasn’t become a vehicle for Hallmark, Amazon, or your local mattress and car dealer. And it’s kind of refreshing that we didn’t feel the need to buy or do something yesterday to “celebrate.”

The War on Christmas is perpetually giving up ground, and so much so, that the holiday is celebrated for the entirety of November and December—basically one-sixth of the calendar year. The way commercialism continuously manifest destinies itself all over the United States like it’s one of the Founding Fathers means we probably won’t see another February 29th that doesn’t include tie-ins and major shopping opportunities.

Think of the possibilities:

• 29 percent sale (an arbitrary percentage off the full, fabricated face value) at lululemon

• An extra day! … to treat yourself to that THING you must have! You are always so busy getting things for others, why not spend one day every four years giving yourself the gift you want the most! Visit Amazon for that special something for that special someone: you!

• Leap better, with new sneakers at Nike.com.

• To celebrate one more day, add one more topping on any Papa John’s Pizza!

• Your surplus day is our surplus sale! Come get last year’s electronics models at Best Buy,

• Buffalo Wild Wings time stopping forces have done it again. We’re sending February to overtime to give you a chance to come into your closest BWW for deals on wings and beers.

If you are someone who loves Prime Day or Black Friday, maybe this doesn’t seem so bad. But to the rest of us, bothered by the uber-importance of companies maximizing their bottom lines and forward-looking-projections in spite of everything else, the abstinence only policy of Leap Day is refreshing. I hope you enjoyed it.