Holiday
Sweetest Day
|
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Observed by
| Great Lakes region
|
---|
Type
| Local
|
---|
Celebrations
| Giving presents such as greeting cards and candy to loved ones.
|
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Date
| Third Saturday in October
|
---|
2023 date
| October 21
(
2023-10-21
)
|
---|
2024 date
| October 19
(
2024-10-19
)
|
---|
2025 date
| October 18
(
2025-10-18
)
|
---|
2026 date
| October 17
(
2026-10-17
)
|
---|
Frequency
| Annual
|
---|
Sweetest Day
is a holiday that is celebrated in the
Midwestern United States
,
[1]
in parts of the
Northeastern United States
, in
Arizona
, and in
Florida
on the third Saturday in October.
[2]
It is a day to share romantic deeds or expressions, and acts of charity and kindness.
[3]
Sweetest Day has also been referred to as a "
Hallmark holiday
" or a "concocted
promotion
" created by the candy industry solely to increase sales of sweets.
[4]
Origin
[
edit
]
The first Sweetest Day was observed on October 10, 1921, in
Cleveland
. The Cleveland
Plain Dealer's
edition of October 8, 1922, which chronicles the first Sweetest Day in Cleveland, states that the first Sweetest Day was planned by a committee of 12 confectioners chaired by candymaker C. C. Hartzell.
The Sweetest Day in the Year Committee
distributed over 20,000 boxes of candy to "newsboys, orphans, old folks, and the poor" in Cleveland.
[5]
The
Sweetest Day in the Year Committee
was assisted in the distribution of candy by some of the biggest movie stars of the day including
Theda Bara
and
Ann Pennington
.
[4]
There were also several attempts to start a "Sweetest Day" in
New York City
, including a declaration of a Candy Day throughout the United States by candy manufacturers on October 8, 1922.
[6]
In 1927,
The New York Times
reported that "the powers that determine the nomenclature of the weeks of October" decreed that the week beginning on October 10, 1927, would be known as
Sweetest Week.
[7]
On September 25, 1937,
The New York Times
reported under
Advertising News and Notes
that The
National Confectioners Association
had launched a "movement throughout the candy industry" to rank Sweetest Day with the nationally accepted Mother's Day, Father's Day, and St. Valentine's Day.
[8]
In 1940, another Sweetest Day was proclaimed on October 19. The promotional event was marked by the distribution of more than 10,000 boxes of candy by the
Sweetest Day Committee.
[9]
The candy was distributed among 26 local charities. 225 children were given candy in the chapel at the
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children
on October 17, 1940.
[9]
600 boxes of candy were also delivered to the presidents of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Big Sister groups of New York.
Regional importance
[
edit
]
Retail Confectioners International describes the observance as "much more important for candymakers in some regions than in others (
Detroit
and
Cleveland
being the biggest Sweetest Day cities)".
[10]
[11]
The popularity in Detroit was greatly perpetuated by the Sanders Candy Company. Frederick Sanders was a large promoter of the holiday.
[12]
In 2006,
Hallmark
marketed 151 greeting card designs for Sweetest Day.
American Greetings
marketed 178.
[3]
Sweetest Day observance is still most prevalent in the Great Lakes region, where the holiday originated, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
[13]
According to
Hallmark
, "the once-regional celebration of Sweetest Day has spread throughout the country."
[13]
In addition to those states where it is "most prevalent", Sweetest Day is celebrated by communities in Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia, bringing the total to 17 states.
[14]
[2]
[15]
Criticism
[
edit
]
Since Sweetest Day was invented by commercial interests which stood to profit from such a holiday, critics refer to it as a "
Hallmark holiday
"
[16]
(although it was not invented by the
Hallmark Cards
company).
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sweetest Day
, retrieved
January 11,
2022
- ^
a
b
Cridlin, Jay (October 21, 2006).
"A sweet day for Hallmark"
. St Petersburg Times
. Retrieved
February 21,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
Orsborn, Kimberly (October 20, 2006).
"Sweetest Day born in Ohio"
.
Mount Vernon News
. Archived from
the original
on March 26, 2007
. Retrieved
February 21,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
, October 15, 2005.
- ^
The Lindell Plain Dealer
, October 8, 1921, and October 8, 1922.
- ^
The New York Times
, October 8, 1922.
- ^
The New York Times
, October 10, 1927.
- ^
The New York Times
, September 25, 1937.
- ^
a
b
The New York Times
, October 18, 1940.
- ^
Sweetest Day
Archived
October 6, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
,
retailerconfectioners.org
. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
- ^
Cincinnati.com: Why do we celebrate Sweetest Day? What to know about the holiday with Ohio roots
, retrieved
July 16,
2022
- ^
Grzegorek, Vince (October 16, 2015).
"What's the deal with Sweetest Day bullshit, anyway?"
.
Detroit Metro Times
. Retrieved
February 5,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Sweetest Day
, retrieved
July 16,
2022
- ^
TimeAndDate.com: Sweetest Day
, retrieved
July 16,
2022
- ^
Mimi Vanderhaven: The Origins of Sweetest Day
, retrieved
July 16,
2022
- ^
Arnett, Lisa.
"Sweet wine o' mine"
.
The Chicago Tribune
. Archived from
the original
on March 10, 2007
. Retrieved
February 21,
2007
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Maud Lavin, ed. (October 4, 2004).
The Business of Holidays
. Monacelli.
ISBN
1-58093-150-2
.
- Leigh Eric Schmidt (1995).
Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays
. Princeton University Press.
ISBN
0691029806
.
- Bennett Madison and James Dignan (December 28, 2002).
I Hate Valentine's Day
. Simon Spotlight Entertainment.
ISBN
0-689-87372-7
.
External links
[
edit
]
Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States
|
---|
January
| |
---|
January?February
| |
---|
February
American Heart Month
Black History Month
|
- Birthday of Luis Munoz Marin
(PR)
- Candlemas
(religious)
- Charles Darwin Day / Darwin Day
(CA, DE)
- Day of Remembrance
(CA, OR, WA, cultural)
- Georgia Day
(GA)
- Groundhog Day
- Imbolc
(religious)
- Lincoln's Birthday
(CA, CT, IL, IN, MO, NY, WV)
- National Girls and Women in Sports Day
- National Freedom Day
(36)
- Nirvana Day
(religious)
- Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple
(religious)
- Promised Reformer Day
(religious)
- Ronald Reagan Day
(CA)
- Rosa Parks Day
(CA, MO)
- Saviours' Day
(religious)
- Susan B. Anthony Day
(CA, FL, NY, WI, WV, proposed federal)
- Tu B’shvat
(religious)
|
---|
February?March
| |
---|
March
Irish-American Heritage Month
Colon Cancer Awareness Month
Women's History Month
|
- Annunciation of the Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Theotokos
(religious)
- Casimir Pulaski Day
(IL)
- Cesar Chavez Day
(CA, CO, TX, proposed federal)
- Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico
(PR, cultural)
- Evacuation Day
(Suffolk County, MA)
- Harriet Tubman Day
(NY)
- Hola Mohalla
(religious)
- Holi
(NY, religious)
- L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday
(religious)
- Lailat al-Mi'raj
(religious)
- Liberation and Freedom Day
(Charlottesville, VA, cultural)
- Mardi Gras
(AL (in two counties), LA)
- Maryland Day
(MD)
- Medal of Honor Day
- National Poison Prevention Week
(week)
- Nowruz
(cultural, religious)
- Ostara
(religious)
- Pi Day
- Prince Jonah K?hi? Kalaniana?ole Day
(HI)
- Promised Messiah Day
(religious)
- Saint Joseph's Day
(religious)
- Seward's Day
(AK)
- Texas Independence Day
(TX)
- Town Meeting Day
(VT)
- Transfer Day
(VI)
- Trans Day of Visibility
(cultural)
|
---|
March?April
|
- Good Friday
(CT, NC, PR, NJ, VI, religious)
- Hanuman Jayanti
(religious)
- Holy Thursday
(PR, VI, religious)
- Holy Week
(PR, religious, week)
- Lazarus Saturday
(religious)
- Mahavir Janma Kalyanak
(religious)
- Mesha Sankranti / Hindu New Year
(religious)
- Palm Sunday
(PR, religious)
- Passover
(religious, week)
- Easter Monday / Bright Monday
(VI, religious)
- Ramnavami
(religious)
- Chandramana Uugadi / Souramana Uugadi
(religious)
|
---|
April
Arab American Heritage Month
Confederate History Month
| |
---|
May
Asian American and
Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month
Military Appreciation Month
| |
---|
June
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Pride Month
| |
---|
July
| |
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July?August
| |
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August
| |
---|
September
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
| |
---|
September?October
Hispanic Heritage Month
| |
---|
October
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Disability Employment Awareness Month
Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month
Filipino American History Month
LGBT History Month
| |
---|
October?November
| |
---|
November
Native American Indian Heritage Month
|
- Ascension of ‘Abdu’l Baha
(religious)
- All Saints' Day
(religious)
- Beginning of the Nativity Fast
(religious)
- Beltane
/
Samhain
(religious)
- Barack Obama Day in Alabama
(Perry County, AL)
- D. Hamilton Jackson Day
(VI)
- Day after Thanksgiving
(24)
- Day of the Covenant
(religious)
- Discovery of Puerto Rico Day
(PR)
- Election Day
(CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, PR, VA, WV, proposed federal)
- Family Day
(NV)
- Guru Nanak Gurpurab
(religious)
- Hanukkah
(religious)
- L? K??oko?a
(HI, unofficial, cultural)
- Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur
(religious)
- Native American Heritage Day
(MD, WA, cultural)
- Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple
(religious)
- Trans Day of Remembrance
(cultural)
- Unthanksgiving Day
(cultural)
|
---|
December
|
- Advent Sunday
(religious)
- Alabama Day
(AL)
- Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib
(religious)
- Bodhi Day
(religious)
- Chalica
(religious)
- Christmas Eve
(KY, NC, SC, PR, VI)
- Day after Christmas
(KY, NC, SC, TX, VI)
- Festivus
- HumanLight
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(religious, week)
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(religious)
- Indiana Day
(IN)
- Kwanzaa
(cultural, week)
- Milad Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin
(religious)
- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
(36)
- Nativity of Jesus
(religious)
- Old Year's Night
(VI)
- Pan American Aviation Day
(36)
- Pancha Ganapati
(religious, week)
- Rosa Parks Day
(OH, OR)
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
(religious)
- Wright Brothers Day
(36)
- Yule
(religious)
- Zartosht No-Diso
(religious)
|
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Varies (year round)
| |
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|