Brian. I see you just missed the big day also. My birthday, Monday, was 2 days before and your's 2 days after. After what , you say!!!. I guess I forget just how far along I am. Back then, It was a time of great interest, AND FUN. Maybe this will clue you in on how it was back in the days of the "Dinosaurs".
SADIE HAWKINS DAY vs LEAP DAY
Sadie Hawkins Day is November 15 - Leap Day is February 29
Sadie Hawkins Day, an American folk event, made its debut in
Al Capp's Li'l Abner strip November 15, 1937.
Some people want February 29 to be Sadie Hawkins Day. February 29
is already Leap Day, and Sadie Hawkins Day is already November 15.
There is no need to change anything, or to merge them together.
Please read the information below from the Lil'Abner website.
Sadie Hawkins Day, an American folk event, made its debut in Al Capp's Li'l Abner strip November 15, 1937.
Sadie Hawkins was "the homeliest gal in the hills" who grew tired of waiting for the fellows to come a courtin'.
Her father, Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent resident of Dogpatch, was even more worried about Sadie living
at home for the rest of his life, so he decreed the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day, a foot race in which the
unmarried gals pursued the town's bachelors, with matrimony the consequence.
By the late 1930's the event had swept the nation and had a life of its own. Life magazine reported over 200
colleges holding Sadie Hawkins Day events in 1939, only two years after its inception. It became a woman
empowering rite at high schools and college campuses, long before the modern feminist movement gained
prominence.
The basis of Sadie Hawkins Day is that women and girls take the initiative in inviting the man or boy of their
choice out on a date, typically to a dance attended by other bachelors and their aggressive dates. When
Al Capp created the event, it was not his intention to have the event occur annually on a specific date because
it inhibited his freewheeling plotting.
However, due to its enormous popularity and the numerous fan letters Capp received,
the event became an annual event in the strip during the month of November, lasting
four decades.
Please understand the differences between Leap Day and Sadie Hawkins Day:
Leap Year Day
Sadie Hawkins Day
The date for Leap Year Day is February 29.
Leap Year Day has been around since 45 B.C.
Forty-Five B.C.!
February 29 has always had the name Leap
Year Day. From day one of it's existence.
Leap Year Day was added to the calendar to keep
the calendar in line with the seasons. It represents
balance and harmony between the seasons and
our method of time-keeping.
The date for Sadie Hawkins Day is November 15.
Sadie Hawkins Day has only been around since
1937 A.D.
November 15 was just a day on the calendar until
someone decided Al Capps character should have it.
Sadie Hawkins Day was added to the calendar
because students at college thought it would be fun.
Granted, it is. But it does not have the responsibility
that February 29 does.
So there you have it. Four good reasons why Leap Year Day and Sadie Hawkins Day should not be the same day.
They each have their reasons for being, and they have their own day on the calendar.
The only similarity between the two is that the woman is allowed to do the asking. Well,
that's not a good enough reason for them to merge onto one date. They are separate.
That was make believe, and fun. But Feb. 29 was not. If you were so fortunate, or not, to be born on Feb. 29, that meant you had a birthday only every "FOUR ------YEARS". Can you fathom what that would mean. I would be 1 year old going to kindergarten, still 1 going into the Air corps, My wife arrested for marring a minor, I would be younger than you, AND----- not old enough to enjoy this beer that I have before me now. Thinking back, I can only wonder; What if with a twinkle in my Fathers eye, my Mom would have said; Not now dear, I have a cold. Give me a couple of days. Colds are like that; Some last 2 days, some 4.
Again Brian; Lil Abner & I hope you enjoyed your Once a Year birthday
chucktoo