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| It is a day to sit at home and eat lots of sweets. | |||
| {{Infobox Holiday | | |||
| |holiday_name=Sweetest Day | |||
| |type=Local | |||
| |observedby=Mostly ] | |||
| |date=Third Saturday in October | |||
| |date2007=] | |||
| |celebrations= Giving small presents such as greeting cards, candy, and flowers to loved ones | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Sweetest Day''' is an ] celebrated primarily in the ] and parts of the Northeast United States on the third Saturday in ]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/21/Floridian/A_sweet_day_for_Hallm.shtml |title=A sweet day for Hallmark |last=Cridlin |first=Jay |date=] |publisher=St Petersburg Times |accessdate=2007-02-21}}</ref>. It is described by Retail Confectioners International, as "much more important for candymakers in some regions than in others (], ] and ] being the biggest Sweetest Day cities)" and an "occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed."<ref name="rci">, ''retailerconfectioners.org''. Retrieved on ].</ref> Sweetest Day has also been referred to as a "concocted ]"<ref>''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'', ], ].</ref> created by the candy industry solely to increase sales of candy. | |||
| ==Origin== | |||
| ], ].]] | |||
| ], ].]] | |||
| The origin of Sweetest Day is frequently attributed to candy company employee Herbert Birch Kingston as an act of philanthropy.<ref> ''theromantic.com''. Retrieved on ].</ref> However, Bill Lubinger, a reporter for '']'', contends that "Dozens of Cleveland's top candy makers concocted the promotion 84 years ago and it stuck, although it never became as widely accepted as hoped."<ref>''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'', ], ].</ref> ''The Cleveland Plain Dealer's'' ], ] edition, 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 ]<ref>''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'', ], ] and ], ].</ref>. 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 ] and ].<ref>''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'', ], ] and ], ].</ref> | |||
| 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 ], ].<ref name="nyt22">''The New York Times'', ], ].</ref> 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 ], ] would be known as ''Sweetest Week.''<ref name="nyt27">''The New York Times'', ], ].</ref> On ], ], ''The New York Times'' reported under ''Advertising News and Notes'' that ''The ]'' 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.<ref name="nyt37">''The New York Times'', ], ].</ref> In 1940, another Sweetest Day was proclaimed on ]. The promotional event was marked by the distribution of more than 10,000 boxes of candy by the ''Sweetest Day Committee.''<ref name="nyt40">''The New York Times'', ], ].</ref> 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 ], ].<ref name="nyt40"/> 600 boxes of candy were also delivered to the presidents of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Big Sister groups of New York.<ref name="nyt40"/> | |||
| == Today == | |||
| Sweetest Day now largely involves giving small presents such as greeting cards, candy, and flowers to loved ones. While it is not as large or widely observed as ], it is still celebrated in parts of the United States, despite persistent allegations of being a "]." <ref>{{cite news | url=http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/localguide/suburbs/west/mmx-061018-west-suburbs-sweetest-day,0,7539245.story?coll=mmx-sgtop_promo |title=Sweet wine o’ mine |last=Arnett |first=Lisa |publisher=] |accessdate=2007-02-21}}</ref> In 2006, Hallmark marketed 151 greeting card designs for Sweetest Day. American Greetings marketed 178.<ref name= "MVN">{{cite news |url=http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/06/10/21/sweetest.day.html |title=Sweetest Day born in Ohio |last=Orsborn |first=Kimberly |date=] |publisher=Mount Vernon News |accessdate=2007-02-21}}</ref> | |||
| == References == | |||
| <div class="references-small"><references/></div> | |||
| == Further reading == | |||
| * {{cite book|title=The Business of Holidays|editor=Maud Lavin|publisher=Monacelli|date=]|id=ISBN 1-58093-150-2}} | |||
| *{{cite journal|title=Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays|author=Scott C. Martin|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=31|date=1997}} | |||
| * {{cite book|title=I Hate Valentine's Day|author=Bennett Madison and James Dignan|publisher=Simon Spotlight Entertainment|date=]|id=ISBN 0-689-87372-7}} | |||
| == External links == | |||
| {{commons|Sweetest Day}} | |||
| * {{cite web|url=http://www.theromantic.com/sweetestday.htm History of Sweetest Day|title=Origins and Facts About Sweetest Day|author=Michael Webb|publisher=TheRomantic.com}} | |||
| * | |||
| * {{cite web|url=http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:vxy5ulMQVU4J:pressroom.americangreetings.com/archives/fall04/sweetestday04.html|title=Sweetest Day was born from one man’s kindness…not in the laboratory of a greeting card company|publisher=American Greetings Corporation|date=August 2004}} | |||
| * {{cite web|url=http://pressroom.hallmark.com/sweetest_day.html|title=Sweetest Day 2005|publisher=]|date=September 2005}} | |||
| * | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 22:14, 10 October 2007
It is a day to sit at home and eat lots of sweets.