The Sadie Hawkins dance is coming up on February 7th from 7-10 pm, in the main gym at Lincoln High School. Sadies is the one dance of the year where the girls ask the guys to go with them instead of the more traditional system of boys asking the girls. Lion Tales interviewed girls to see how they felt about Sadies and why they thought the unique tradition of the girls asking the guys to this dance was introduced.

Lion Tales asked senior Sarinna Bermudez about why she thinks this tradition started. “I believe it started because the guys have to get ready to ask a girl to prom in 3-4 months and they needed a break.” Sounds like a logical reason.

When asked if she thinks it would be more nerve-wracking for the girl to ask or be asked to Sadies, Bermudez responded, “I would be more comfortable if they ask because I would be more comfortable to go with that guy to see that he actually showed effort to ask me.”

Bermudez guessed the tradition of girls asking boys to Sadie Hawkins has been around, “for a good thirty years, at least.” This tradition has been around since 1937.

The tradition of girls asking the boys to this dance actually originated from an old comic strip. In the cartoon “Li’l Abner” there was a specific day in November where unmarried women chased around bachelors in hopes of catching them for marriage. As the comic got more popular, a “holiday for the single” was born. Schools all over the United States were inspired by this and began the custom of the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Originally the dance took place the Saturday after November 9th, which is when the festivities happened in the comic strip. Over the years, the tradition has changed and so has the date, but the same idea of girls asking boys to this dance has remained the same.

Back in the 1950’s, Sadies wasn’t what it is today. The girls still asked the boys to the dance, but it wasn’t all about finding the perfect dress to wear or wearing the right tie; it was all about straw hats and overalls.

Back then the Sadie Hawkins dance was “Hill Billy” themed. They had square dancing, and bales of hay were brought into the gym. This was the theme almost every year up until about 15 years ago, when students started making subtle changes until Sadies became what it is today. Now there is a different theme to look forward to every year.

Tickets are available for purchase during lunch in the quad, next to the art buildings.  Tickets are $5.