February 29th comes once every four years. Most of us know this day as Leap Year, but what I didn’t realize is that today is also Sadie Hawkins Day. Today is the day that men and women switch societal roles and the woman approaches and courts the man. It all stemmed from a comic strip called Li’l Abner, created by a man named Al Capp.
Sadie Hawkins Day is a fictional holiday that originates in Al Capp's comic strip Li'l Abner. It was a day-long event in observed in Canada and in the United States on the Saturday that follows November 9[citation needed], 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.
In the Li'l Abner comic strip, 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' 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 husband."
The town spinsters decided that this was such a good idea, they made Sadie Hawkins Day an annual event, much to the chagrin 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. (Read more on Sadie Hawkins Day)
Today, ladies, is the day to burn your bras and grow some balls! Don’t be afraid to tell him how you really feel…what better time than the present? If it backfires, you’ve got another four years before you’re back to playing role reversal, but imagine if things actually work out in your favor. Good luck!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day?
Valentine’s Day is the internationally-celebrated day of love; the day that chocolate, flowers and an open table at restaurants are in high demand. But, let’s be real. After the flowers die, the chocolates have been picked over and the food is digested, what is there to show for? My point is, after the materialistic symbolisms for love have faded, is love still there?
After doing some research, I found that there’s actually more than one St. Valentine and that the association with lovers really stems from a poem titled, "Parlement of Foules" by Geoffrey Chaucer. “The story was set in a fictional context of an old tradition, but in fact there was no such tradition before Chaucer (Wiki).” Yes, you’ve all been duped! Of the two St. Valentines (and I believe there’s at least eleven total) honored on February 14th, neither of them are synonymous with love. So, now that we’ve established Valentine’s Day is just that, a day to honor martyred saints, what’s with all this romance business?
It’s so ironic to talk to friends that are in relationships who’d rather shy away from the commercialism created around the fourteenth of February and, on the flip side, have friends, who aren’t in relationships, insinuate wanting one on this day. Maybe the difference lies in whether or not you like or love the one you’re with…if you’re with anyone at all. The different levels of emotion cause for different types of rules. And with a certain sentiment and regard for someone, comes a more mature and realistic approach to the relationship and how it’s celebrated. If you simply like someone, a card and heart-shaped candy box might actually be all you need to convey your feelings. But if you’re in love, you’re probably (or at least should be) questioning why this day is different from any other.
If you’ve ever taken a literature course in college, you probably remember a German philosopher by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche. Thanks to my sister, my memory has been refreshed so allow me to refresh yours on Nietzsche’s theories on truth. In a response to his article, she wrote, "In his article, 'On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense,' he declares truth is not objective, but rather subjective and it is a device created by man, not conscious." In so many words, he stated that truth is something that we create based on individual ideals and experiences. Love is similar.
Love is a term that you certainly can’t unanimously define because it is an emotion, which means that everyone’s description of it will vary. Yes, it may be difficult to define what love is in terms of what it feels/looks/smells/tastes/sounds like, but I’m sure we can all easily describe what it isn’t. Love is not a game. It’s not like dating. There are no opposing teams and no one is competing to score more points than the other. There is no protective gear if you get hurt and there are no time outs. You can’t be selfish and you most certainly can’t be in love, in the romantic sense, with more than one person. Love is, however, a process and something to be taken seriously. Reflect on the following excerpt from a male’s point of view on falling in like versus falling in love:
“Why do fools fall in love? Because they never fell in like. It is almost like women (and men) have a habit of falling in love with falling in love. To ‘fall’ in love implies the ultimate vulnerability on behalf of an individual. To be ‘in like’ implies a sense of control over the situation. No one should ever intentionally FALL in love with anyone. Now, the natural progression of things SHOULD be that one fall in like, and grows to love. Nevertheless, when the first step is erroneously taken for granted, people FALL in love, just to FALL right back out of love. How tragic. Conversely, if one would simply ‘fall in like’ with an individual first, then they would grow to love, and even more importantly LEARN to love them. Ultimately, we should not be fooled by the trickery of modern-day pop culture and the emphasis that it has placed upon ‘falling in love.’”
Love is not something that needs an annual reminder. But should you use this holiday as justification for showing your affection for another person, maybe you need to reassess the situation. I’m not knocking Valentine's Day. I simply hope that love is commemorated as much today as it is on any other day of the year; that it is revered and considered more than just a mere tradition. For those who are in like, in love or who, currently, aren’t experiencing either one, remember: If you think love is a game, there’s only one rule: stop playing!
Live.Love.Learn…and then repeat!
After doing some research, I found that there’s actually more than one St. Valentine and that the association with lovers really stems from a poem titled, "Parlement of Foules" by Geoffrey Chaucer. “The story was set in a fictional context of an old tradition, but in fact there was no such tradition before Chaucer (Wiki).” Yes, you’ve all been duped! Of the two St. Valentines (and I believe there’s at least eleven total) honored on February 14th, neither of them are synonymous with love. So, now that we’ve established Valentine’s Day is just that, a day to honor martyred saints, what’s with all this romance business?
It’s so ironic to talk to friends that are in relationships who’d rather shy away from the commercialism created around the fourteenth of February and, on the flip side, have friends, who aren’t in relationships, insinuate wanting one on this day. Maybe the difference lies in whether or not you like or love the one you’re with…if you’re with anyone at all. The different levels of emotion cause for different types of rules. And with a certain sentiment and regard for someone, comes a more mature and realistic approach to the relationship and how it’s celebrated. If you simply like someone, a card and heart-shaped candy box might actually be all you need to convey your feelings. But if you’re in love, you’re probably (or at least should be) questioning why this day is different from any other.
If you’ve ever taken a literature course in college, you probably remember a German philosopher by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche. Thanks to my sister, my memory has been refreshed so allow me to refresh yours on Nietzsche’s theories on truth. In a response to his article, she wrote, "In his article, 'On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense,' he declares truth is not objective, but rather subjective and it is a device created by man, not conscious." In so many words, he stated that truth is something that we create based on individual ideals and experiences. Love is similar.
Love is a term that you certainly can’t unanimously define because it is an emotion, which means that everyone’s description of it will vary. Yes, it may be difficult to define what love is in terms of what it feels/looks/smells/tastes/sounds like, but I’m sure we can all easily describe what it isn’t. Love is not a game. It’s not like dating. There are no opposing teams and no one is competing to score more points than the other. There is no protective gear if you get hurt and there are no time outs. You can’t be selfish and you most certainly can’t be in love, in the romantic sense, with more than one person. Love is, however, a process and something to be taken seriously. Reflect on the following excerpt from a male’s point of view on falling in like versus falling in love:
“Why do fools fall in love? Because they never fell in like. It is almost like women (and men) have a habit of falling in love with falling in love. To ‘fall’ in love implies the ultimate vulnerability on behalf of an individual. To be ‘in like’ implies a sense of control over the situation. No one should ever intentionally FALL in love with anyone. Now, the natural progression of things SHOULD be that one fall in like, and grows to love. Nevertheless, when the first step is erroneously taken for granted, people FALL in love, just to FALL right back out of love. How tragic. Conversely, if one would simply ‘fall in like’ with an individual first, then they would grow to love, and even more importantly LEARN to love them. Ultimately, we should not be fooled by the trickery of modern-day pop culture and the emphasis that it has placed upon ‘falling in love.’”
Love is not something that needs an annual reminder. But should you use this holiday as justification for showing your affection for another person, maybe you need to reassess the situation. I’m not knocking Valentine's Day. I simply hope that love is commemorated as much today as it is on any other day of the year; that it is revered and considered more than just a mere tradition. For those who are in like, in love or who, currently, aren’t experiencing either one, remember: If you think love is a game, there’s only one rule: stop playing!
Live.Love.Learn…and then repeat!
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