Sadie Hawkins Day
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Sadie Hawkins Day was a day-long event in Al Capp's comic strip Li'l Abner, named after Sadie Hawkins, "the homeliest gal in all them hills." Each year on Sadie Hawkins Day, the unmarried women of Dogpatch pursued the single men. If a woman caught a man and dragged him back to the starting line by sundown, he had to marry her.
The first Sadie Hawkins Day
Sadie Hawkins was the daughter of one of Dogpatch's earliest settlers, Hekzebiah Hawkins. When she reached the age of 35, still a spinster, her father in desperation called together the eligible bachelors of Dogpatch and declared that day to be Sadie Hawkins Day and that "when ah fires [my gun] all o' yo' start a-runnin! When ah fires agin - after givin' yo' a fair start - Sadie starts a runnin'. Th' one she ketches'll be her husband."
The town spinsters decided that this was such a good idea, they made Sadie Hawkins Day an annual event, much to the fear of Dogpatch bachelors everywhere.
Sadie Hawkins Day was first mentioned in the November 13, 1937 Li'l Abner strip with the race actually taking place between the November 19th and November 30th strips. It would prove to be an annual event in the strip.
Sadie Hawkins Day in popular culture
Sadie Hawkins Day captured the imagination of many Americans, particularly on campuses. A Life magazine headline reported, in 1939, that "On Sadie Hawkins Day, Girls Chase Boys in 201 Colleges" and printed pictures from Texas Wesleyan.
Many US high schools hold Sadie Hawkins day dances. These dances are characterized by girls asking boys for dates, and matching farmer clothes being worn to the dance.
References
- Schreiner, Dave (1988). "1937: Sadie's First Run", in Li'l Abner Dailies, Voume 3: 1937, Kitchen Sink Press, Princeton, Wisconsin, p 8.