Celebrate Old Maid’s Day Every June 4

• By NSC
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June 4 is Old Maid’s Day. No, not the card game. The unmarried woman.

Once upon a time, in the (not so) distant past, women were supposed to get married and have babies. And they were supposed to do it while they were still young enough to get pregnant easily.

Women who stayed single and childless beyond a certain age (usually 25 or 30) were called old maids. And it wasn’t anything to be proud of.

So why would anyone want to celebrate being something considered bad (or sad)?

Because it’s not truly bad or sad. It’s simply a choice. And a perfectly valid choice at that.

Sometimes it’s a conscious choice not to marry, for any number of reasons. Focusing on a career. Not feeling ready. Not believing in it. They’re all acceptable choices.

Other times a woman just hasn’t found Mr. Right yet. But that’s also a choice: a choice to not settle just to avoid being single.

 

How Old Maid’s Day Started

It’s not entirely clear how Old Maid’s Day got its start.

Many sources suggest it started because World War II put a bit of a damper on marrying young. It’s hard to get married when the young men you might otherwise meet and marry are off in another country getting shot at and killed.

Even women who had met Mr. Right didn’t necessarily get to marry him right away. Or ever.

So the women left behind got older. And many stayed single.

Shortly after the war, communities started holding dances to help bring together the single ladies and the just-returned soldiers.

Or it may have started as a prank in Norristown, PA. According to a story in the Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era from 1953, the first Old Maid’s Day was indeed a prank held on June 4, 1949. But people loved the idea and celebrated it every year. News coverage of the event led to other towns wanting to hold their own Old Maid’s Days.

And it just spread from there.

There have also been Old Maid’s Days held on dates other than June 4. For example, Denton, Texas apparently started celebrating Old Maid’s Day on August 15, 1950.

It looks like Old Maid’s Days started independently in a few places. The one on June 4 is the one that stuck. At any rate, June 4 is when we celebrate it now.

And yes, we should celebrate it. Because our choices are our choices, and society doesn’t get to dictate when or if women “should” get married.

So if you’re an “old maid,” own it. And if you’re not? There’s nothing stopping you from honoring your still-single friends.

Too young to be an old maid? Celebrate the freedom to choose to be one, if that’s what you want.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating Old Maid’s Day

If you’re single, enjoy it! Get together with your other “old maid” friends and have a night out … Or in.

Maybe play some rounds of the Old Maids card game.

Or watch Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda despair of ever finding and keeping Mr. Right with a Sex and the City marathon.

While you’re playing (or watching), indulge in some “Old Maids” desserts. Try one of these recipes:

• Old Maid Cake: An upside down cake with pears. Apparently inspired by an upside-down apple tart created by a pair of “old maid” sisters.
• Old Maid’s Vinegar Pie: Pecans, raisins and cinnamon, how can you go wrong with that?

 

And then there’s the Old Maid cocktail. Unlike the “classic” perception of an old maid as wrinkled and dried up, this cocktail is light and refreshing, with cucumber, mint and gin.

Here’s a video showing you just how it’s made:

 

A slight twist on the Old Maid cocktail is the Kentucky Maid. It uses bourbon instead of gin (couldn’t you have guessed that from the name?!). Everything else is the same.

So will you be celebrating Old Maid’s Day this year?

Even if you’re not an old maid yourself, it seems a shame to not try some of these wonderful desserts and drinks! So enjoy, whatever your marital status.

 

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