National Homemaker Day — 3 November

What is National Homemaker Day?

On November 3, National Homemaker Day, we celebrate the people who keep our households running! This day is devoted to appreciating all labor done in homes including cooking, buying groceries, and carrying out much-needed repairs. Whoever the homemaker is in your modern family, this is the chance to thank and celebrate the ones working hard behind the scenes!

HistoryIn the United States, the person in charge of taking care of the home while their partner works is called a homemaker. In our current society, this terms applies to a house-spouse of any gender who works hard to keep their home in order. A homemaker can also be an adult’s parent or family member helping take care of the home and any present children. However, in the past, a homemaker would normally be the wife or matriarch of a family unit. In the 19th century, women were required to stay back and maintain the home as a peaceful environment for their husbands and children. Though the 20th century began with many of the same homemaking ideals as the 19th, by the 1990s more marriages consisted of both men and women participating in housework. Unfortunately, according to a study performed by Adam Hochschild in 1989, women who made more than 50% of income were still doing the majority of the housework.  Being a homemaker in the 21st century is not a lifetime commitment like it was in the 1800s. Someone who might stay at home now may want to return to the workforce later, while their partner will either continue working as well or decide to switch places and takeover the housework duties. Currently, more men are contributing to housework and are even the main homemakers, opting to stay at home while their wives or husbands are the primary breadwinners. Though the number of female house-spouses still outweigh their male counterparts, the gap between the two is steadily closing as people abandon traditional gender norms for approaches that fit their individual lifestyles.