WHO IS SADIE HAWKINS?

I didn't realize we had a Sadie Hawkins Day this year until the middle of February. A big deal was always made of this day in school when I was a kid. Do young people even know what that is? That is what we called February 29 since it only comes around every four years. In the three years in between February only has 28 days. No matter what year it is, February is always the shortest month of the year, and most of us living in cold and snowy winter country always look forward to the last day of February. That means temperatures are warming up and often feels like the beginning of spring.

Back to Sadie Hawkins. That is a "holiday" when the tables are turned and women and girls get to ask the guys out, and even propose marriage, especially if the guy is dragging his feet. In today's society and women's lib, women are more apt to do the asking anyway. Some places would have Sadie Hawkins dances and only the girls could ask a boy for a date. Girls looked forward to that day unless they were shy like me. The shy girls feared asking a boy so often stayed home.

I couldn't remember why this day was called that so I had to google it. And I found several sites that talked about Sadie Hawkins Day is November 13, 2016, or some say it is November 1, 2016. WHAT?

It all started with Al Capp and his comic strip Li'l Abner, and talk of Sadie Hawkins Day was first published in November 1937. The comic strip ended in 1978 so there must be a whole generation  who have never even heard of Li'l Abner. Li'l Abner lived in Dogpatch, USA, a hillbilly community.  Sadie Hawkins was 'the homeliest gal in the hills' and nobody wanted to date her, so the only way she could get a date was to have one day a year when gals got to do the asking.

So was Sadie Hawkins day only talked about in November in the comic strip? I only remember it was on February 29. Is that what you remember, too? Or do you remember it being in November? Well, I will continue to call February 29 Sadie Hawkins Day anyway.

Do you know why we have an extra day every four years, also known as Leap Year? Leap years have 366 days, not 365. We use leap years to sync our calendar with the Earth's orbit around the sun because the actual orbit is 365.24 days each year. So we need the extra day every four years so that our calendar keep up.

Okay, I have finished teaching for today. I even learned something!