About National Men Make Dinner Day
We’ve come a long way from the 1950s “Leave it to Beaver.” Mrs. Cleaver today likely has a full-time job, as does her husband. Couples share financial and household responsibilities.
But when it comes to the kitchen, responsibilities may still divide along “traditional” lines. While some of the world’s greatest chefs may be men, in many homes it's more common to find a man poking a “manly” barbecue than wearing an apron and cooking dinner.
About two decades ago, Canadian DJ and journalist Sandy Sharkey decided things needed to change. One day she called her husband, Rob, and announced it was “Men Make Dinner Day.” Of course, she made up the holiday and only wanted her husband to have dinner ready when she got home.
In a newspaper interview years later, Sharkey recalled with a laugh that the first dinner her husband prepared was horrible, but “God love him, because he did it.”
Sharkey is still laughing as her made-up holiday, which is celebrated the first Thursday in November, now appears on national holiday calendars.
Sharkey set up the tongue-in-cheek website menmakedinnerday.com that, among other things, contains holiday rules, such as the man doing the cooking cannot have any help, the meal must have at least four ingredients; and no takeout, or barbecue.
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