St. Catherine’s Day – Old Maid’s Day in France
For many years, on November 25, hat makers (also called milliners) across France raised a toast to celebrate an event that now pops up on only a few people’s calendars: Saint Catherine’s Day. Also known as Old Maid’s Day, St. Catherine’s Day is an ancient holiday when single ladies and old maids wore extravagant green-and-yellow hats and prayed for a good husband. The holiday has deep-rooted traditions but remains wildly unpopular today.
If you happen to be in Paris around the 25th, it is a lovely time to be there, right as the city eases into the holiday season (see my guide to visiting Paris in November).
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History of St. Catherine’s Day
The story of St. Catherine begins in the 4th century with a young girl, Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Born to noble parents, Catherine tried to convert Roman Emperor Maxentius to Christianity. Furious, he asks her to consult 50 philosophers, whom she also converts.
The Emperor then asks Catherine for her hand in marriage, but she rejects all his advances. Seething with rage, he imprisons her and straps her to a torture machine that is meant to shred her to pieces, but her death was interrupted by some divine intervention. She was later beheaded by the Emperor.
In the Middle Ages, single ladies aged 25 and older (also known as Catherinettes) dressed in lavish outfits and extravagant hats and took a pilgrimage to St. Catherine’s statue, praying for her help in finding a good husband to avoid donning Saint Catherine’s bonnet and remaining spinsters. She was/is the patron saint of unmarried women.
There are two statues of Sainte Catherine in Paris. You can still find her statue on the corner of rue de Clery and rue Poissonnière in the 2nd Arrondissement, and the corner of la rue de Sévigné and la rue Saint-Antoine in the 4th Arrondissement.
Julien Lorieux also created a sculpture in the 9th arrondissement at Square du Montolon (2 Rue Mayran). It depicts 5 working-class women celebrating Saint Catherine.
In Parisian society, the women went to grand balls and dances wearing crazy hats with green and yellow hanging objects to signal their availability. Traditionally, yellow signified faith and success, while green symbolized wisdom and hope (in finding a good husband).
The Catherinettes Prayers for Different Age Groups:
- Before reaching the age of 25: “Donnez-moi, Seigneur, un mari de bon lieu! Qu'il soit doux, opulent, libéral et agréable!” (Lord, give me a well-situated husband. Let him be gentle, rich, generous, and pleasant!)
- After the age of 25: “Seigneur, un qui soit supportable, ou qui, parmi le monde, au moins puisse passer!” (Lord, one who is bearable, or who can at least pass as bearable in the world!)
- When she’s approaching 30: “Un tel qu'il te plaira, Seigneur, je m'en contente!” (Send whoever you want, Lord; I'll be happy!)
St. Catherine’s Day Today
Sainte Catherine was the patron saint of young women and old maids, but by the 1900s, she also became the unofficial patron saint of milliners and craftsmen who work with wheels. It created an opportunity for milliners to show off their hat-making skills. A few couture houses and French milliners who still design hats celebrate by creating fancy green and yellow hats.
By the 1920s and 1930s, the tradition had become a proper fashion event. Milliners across Paris turned the day into a showcase for their most theatrical work, and the great couture houses joined in too, with Dior, Balmain, and Givenchy all producing elaborate Catherinette hats for their own unmarried staff. What started as a quiet pilgrimage to a statue became one of the most photographed days on the French fashion calendar.
The tradition has faded across most of France since the 1970s, but it has not disappeared. Vesoul, in the Grand Est, still holds a Catherinette hat contest every year as part of its Foire Comtoise agricultural fair. The custom even crossed the Atlantic: it inspired an annual hat parade held in New Orleans the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Quebec keeps a related tradition alive with tire Sainte-Catherine, a molasses taffy made in Saint Catherine's honor.
Searching for a husband at a young age isn't really a thing anymore. More of a folkloric event now, the holiday is an opportunity to gently mock young, single ladies under 25 and watch them wear ridiculously fancy hats.
Celebrating St. Catherine’s Day is a fun way to try on crazy headdresses and embarrass your single female friends.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is St. Catherine's Day in France?
St. Catherine's Day is a French tradition celebrated every November 25 in honor of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of unmarried women. Historically, single women who turned 25 without marrying, known as Catherinettes, wore elaborate yellow-and-green hats and prayed for a husband. Today it survives mostly as a lighthearted, folkloric celebration rather than a serious matchmaking ritual.
Why do French women wear yellow and green hats on St. Catherine's Day?
Each color carries meaning: yellow represents faith and green represents wisdom, with some tellings adding success and hope to the mix. Friends and coworkers traditionally made these elaborate hats by hand for the Catherinettes to wear all day, turning what could have felt like a mark of spinsterhood into a proud, celebratory costume.
Is St. Catherine's Day still celebrated in France?
Yes, though only in pockets. The tradition has faded across most of the country since the 1970s, but it is still marked in parts of the Grand Est and Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions, among French milliners and dressmakers, and at Vesoul's annual Foire Comtoise, which includes its own Catherinette hat contest.
What is a Catherinette?
A Catherinette is an unmarried French woman who has turned 25, the age medieval tradition considered the tipping point toward permanent spinsterhood. The name comes directly from Saint Catherine, since these women traditionally sought her intercession for a husband.
Where can you still see the Catherinette tradition today?
Paris keeps physical reminders of the tradition standing year-round. Statues of Saint Catherine still mark the corner of rue de Cléry and rue Poissonnière in the 2nd arrondissement and the corner of rue de Sévigné and rue Saint-Antoine in the 4th, both spots where Catherinettes once left hats and flowers. Outside Paris, Vesoul's Foire Comtoise hosts a hat contest every year, and the tradition even crossed the Atlantic, inspiring an annual hat parade in New Orleans the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Is there a similar tradition outside France?
Yes. In Quebec, unmarried women past a certain age take part in a related custom built around tire Sainte-Catherine, a molasses taffy traditionally credited to Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys. It leans on candy more than couture, but it shares the same patron saint and the same nod to staying single a little longer.
St. Catherine's Day is just one of many curious customs the French still mark throughout the year (you will find more in our guide to French customs and traditions).
How about you? Did you know about Saint Catherine's Day? Have you ever seen it celebrated? Have you taken part? Do tell!
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I hadn’t heard of this day before. It sounds pretty cool. I’d love to be in France for this.
Wow how nice! I’ve never heard of this before and I bet all the ladies look very pretty in their hats! So much to learn about France!
This is so interesting! I vaguely remember learning about this during my French studies but loved reading up on it from your post! The way the prayer got more and more simple in wants for a man as the women aged are hysterical. Thanks so much for sharing!
I got married young so I wouldn’t have gotten to ever celebrate. Hmmm. Love those hats though.
Its great to learn more about St. Catherine’s Day. I haven’t participated in any celebrations but I would love to.
So much more to learn about this. I would love to take part in it too.
This is really interesting! I’ve never heard of this before, it sounds really amazing!