This Feb. 29 some of you may be wishing each other a happy leap day. But those who remember the classic Li'l Abner cartoon strip penned by Al Capp may mark the occasion of the extra calendar day by greeting each other with a hearty, "Happy Sadie Hawkins Day!"
Sadie was a character in Capp's fictional town of Dogpatch. As a spinster and "the homeliest gal in the hills," she wanted to take charge of finding a mate rather than sitting back and waiting for the boys to approach her. Her father was so concerned about her prospects for marriage that he organized a race in which the town's single women would run after the town's bachelors ... and marry the ones they caught. The idea was so popular with readers that Capp brought it back once a year.
The appeal of turning the tables and letting women take the initiative in romance (whether it be with a marriage proposal or a simple invitation to dance) is easy to understand, particularly in Li'l Abner's time (the strip ran from 1934 to 1977). What is harder to figure is how Feb. 29 became the day associated with the event.
Al Capp's Sadie Hawkins Day always fell in November — the first Saturday after Nov. 9, to be precise — and was celebrated annually, not every four years. But legend has it that in the 13th century, Scotland passed a law allowing women to propose to men on leap days, which may be the origin of the connection. It may also come from the story that in the 5th century, St. Patrick allowed Irish women to propose to men during leap years. Gee, what a privilege!
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