Fun Holiday – Sadie Hawkins Day

The made-up holiday was first featured in a comic strip called Li’l Abner created by American cartoonist Alfred Gerald Caplin, also known as Al Capp. In the comic, Hekzebiah Hawkins, a long-time resident of Dogpatch, is worried about his unmarried daughter, Sadie Hawkins. Concerned about her inability to find a suitable husband, he declared a Sadie Hawkins Day, where Sadie chased the eligible bachelors in town in order to find herself a husband.

In the Dogpatch universe, this idea took hold among other unmarried women, who mandated that Sadie Hawkins Day be held every year.

Breaking Society’s Rules

The comic strip became so popular that towns and colleges around the country started declaring their own Sadie Hawkins Day and organizing Sadie Hawkins Dances, where women could break the societal rules of the day and ask men out.

In many ways, the day became a way for women to become assertive and take their dating choices in their hands. During the time of its publication, only men were expected to ask women on a date or propose marriage. A woman doing that was often considered too forward and of low morals.

How to Celebrate

• Even though women today are more independent than their counterparts in the early 20th century, there is still an unspoken societal rule that it is not proper for women to ask men out on dates. Use this day as an excuse to break these rules and ask your sweetie out on a date.
• If you have found someone who you would like to spend your life with, why not propose marriage to them today? Get on your knees and ask the man of your dreams to be your life partner.

Did You Know…

...that in many cultures, the only day it was acceptable for a woman to propose marriage to a man was on Leap Day?