Photo Above:
This is a Fair Use of an excerpt from March 29, 1947 Li'l Abner strip. Although this is still under copyright, inclusion here qualifies for Fair Use under US Copyright law- It is used for a educational purpose. license
It is representative of the work: * It shows the five of the main characters.
*It shows the characters in a classic situation. * It is only a small part of the overall work.
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When is "Sadie Hawkins Day"?
That's a good question! When is the real Sadie Hawkins Day??
We found reference to this holiday as being celebrated on November 3, November 13, November 15 and February 29.
We do know that it is NOT on February 29 but it does get mixed up with the Leap Year holiday where the folklore tradition is that women may propose marriage on leap years. Sadie Hawkins Day was first mentioned in the November 13, 1937 Li'l Abner daily strip so that's why we find November 13 posted as Sadie Hawkins Day in some locations.
It became a day-long event observed in Canada and in the United States on the Saturday that follows November 9th.
We think that because so many people have Sadie Hawkins Dances & races that the actual holiday date gets mixed up with the dates set for the dances. rest assured that this holiday: IS IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!
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What type of holiday is this?
This holiday falls in the category of:
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What is the Origin of this holiday?
An American folk event, Sadie Hawkins Day is a pseudo-holiday that originated in Al Capp's classic hillbilly comic strip, Li'l Abner (1934 to 1977). The event is still observed in the form of dances at which girls approach (or chase after) boys.
We did find reference to this holiday on several ECard websites.
Sadie Hawkins Day is a day meant for girls to take the initiative and woo the guy of their dreams ! So skip the small talk, beating around the bush and waiting for him to propose. Just go ahead and do it !
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Original story
In Li'l Abner, Sadie Hawkins was the daughter of one of Dogpatch's earliest settlers, Hekzebiah Hawkins. The "homeliest gal in all them hills", she grew frantic waiting for suitors to come a-courtin'. When she reached the age of 35, still a spinster, her father was even more frantic - about Sadie living at home for the rest of his life. In desperation, he called together all the unmarried men of Dogpatch and declared it "Sadie Hawkins Day". Specifically, a foot race was decreed, with Sadie in hot pursuit of the town's eligible bachelors - and matrimony as the consequence.
"When ah fires [my gun], all o' yo' kin start a-runnin! When ah fires agin - after givin' yo' a fair start - Sadie starts a runnin'. Th' one she ketches'll be her husbin." The town spinsters decided that this was such a good idea, they made Sadie Hawkins Day a mandatory yearly event, much to the chagrin of Dogpatch bachelors. In the satirical spirit that drove the strip, many sequences revolved around the dreaded Sadie Hawkins Day race. If a woman caught a bachelor and dragged him, kicking and screaming, across the finish line before sundown - he had to marry her!
Sadie Hawkins Day was first mentioned in the November 13, 1937 Li'l Abner daily strip, with the race actually taking place between November 19th and November 30th in the continuity. It would prove to be a popular annual feature in Li'l Abner, and a cultural phenomenon outside the strip.
(See also: Leap year for discussion of a similar tradition of "allowing" women to propose marriage on February 29, which has also become unofficially known as Sadie Hawkins Day.)
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In popular culture
Capp's creation captured the imagination of young people, particularly in high schools and on college campuses. In 1939, only two years after its inauguration, a double-page spread in Life magazine proclaimed, "On Sadie Hawkins Day, Girls Chase Boys in 201 Colleges" and printed pictures from Texas Wesleyan. Capp originally created it as a comic plot device, but by the early 1940s the comic strip event had swept the nation and acquired a life of its own. By 1952, Sadie Hawkins Day was reportedly celebrated at 40,000 known venues. It was a female-empowering rite long before the modern feminist movement gained prominence.
It became a day-long event observed in Canada and in the United States on the Saturday that follows November 9th.
Outside the comic strip, the practical basis of Sadie Hawkins Day is one of simple gender role-reversal. Women and girls take the bold initiative by inviting the man or boy of their choice out on a date - almost unheard of before 1937 - typically to a dance attended by other bachelors and their assertive dates. When Capp created the event, it wasn't his intention to have it occur annually on a specific date, because it inhibited his freewheeling plotting. However, due to its enormous popularity and the numerous fan letters he received, Capp obligingly made it a tradition in the strip every November, lasting four decades.
Sadie Hawkins Traditional Dances
In many localities the tradition continues. Many U.S. high schools, especially in the south and midwest, hold Sadie Hawkins dances, as do some Canadian high schools. The dances are characterized by girls taking the initiative, and couples wearing matching "farmer" clothes and rural attire to the dance. The dance is also occasionally called "WPA" (Women Pay All), in which girls invite boys, pay for dinner, dance tickets, etc.
resource links:
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How can I Celebrate this holiday?
- Hold a Sadie Hawkins Dance in your community! - It's lots of fun!
- Blog with us about it! - We have a blog called "Everyday is a Holiday" so visit our pages and talk with us about this holiday.
- Send Free E-Greeting! - If your ready to get together with your friends don't forget to invite them with these fun Internet Invitations.
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Other November Holidays around the world
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