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The creation of Sweetest Day is often attributed to Herbert Birch Kingston<ref name="hbk"></ref>. However, the first Sweetest Day was pronounced as October 8, 1921 in ]. The Cleveland ''Plain Dealer's'' October 8, 1922 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 name="ReferenceA">''The Lindell Plain Dealer'', October 8, 1921 and October 8, 1922.</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 name="ReferenceA"/> The creation of Sweetest Day is often attributed to Herbert Birch Kingston<ref name="hbk"></ref>. However, the first Sweetest Day was pronounced as October 8, 1921 in ]. The Cleveland ''Plain Dealer's'' October 8, 1922 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 name="ReferenceA">''The Lindell Plain Dealer'', October 8, 1921 and October 8, 1922.</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 name="ReferenceA"/>


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.<ref name="nyt22">''The New York Times'', October 8, 1922.</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 October 10, 1927 would be known as ''Sweetest Week.''<ref name="nyt27">''The New York Times'', October 10, 1927.</ref> On September 25, 1937, ''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'', September 25, 1937.</ref> 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.''<ref name="nyt40">''The New York Times'', October 18, 1940.</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 October 17, 1940.<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. 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.<ref name="nyt22">''The New York Times'', October 8, 1922.</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 October 10, 1927 would be known as ''Sweetest Week.''<ref name="nyt27">''The New York Times'', October 10, 1927.</ref> On September 25, 1937, ''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'', September 25, 1937.</ref> 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.''<ref name="nyt40">''The New York Times'', October 18, 1940.</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 October 17, 1940.<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. As well as making every single male or female in the world feel as lonely as possible.


==How It's Celebrated== ==How It's Celebrated==

Revision as of 02:40, 4 October 2012

Sweetest Day
Observed byMostly Midwestern United States & Mostly in Cleveland
TypeLocal
CelebrationsGiving small presents such as greeting cards, candy, and flowers to loved ones
DateThird Saturday in October
2024 datedate missing (please add)

Sweetest Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region, and parts of the Northeast United States, on the third Saturday in October. It is described by Retail Confectioners International as an "occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed." Sweetest Day has also been referred to as a "concocted promotion" created by the candy industry solely to increase sales of sweets.

Origin

File:Cleveland Committeemen Who Arranged the Details of the Sweetest Day of the Year and Planned Its Success.jpg
The 12 Cleveland committeemen who planned Cleveland's Sweetest Day, as published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer on October 8, 1922.
Full page Sweetest Day editorial published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer on October 8, 1922.

The creation of Sweetest Day is often attributed to Herbert Birch Kingston. However, the first Sweetest Day was pronounced as October 8, 1921 in Cleveland. The Cleveland Plain Dealer's October 8, 1922 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 Cleveland, Ohio. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 600 boxes of candy were also delivered to the presidents of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Big Sister groups of New York. As well as making every single male or female in the world feel as lonely as possible.

How It's Celebrated

Friends, family and lovers often give each other candy, flowers and cards on the Sweetest Day. Like Valentine's Day, the Sweetest Day is associated with heart-shaped boxes, and the colors pink and red.

Regional Importance

Retail Confectioners International describes it as "much more important for candymakers in some regions than in others (Detroit and Cleveland being the biggest Sweetest Day cities)". The popularity in Detroit was greatly perpetuated by the Sanders Candy Company. Frederick Sanders of Detroit, MI was a large promoter of the holiday. In 2006, Hallmark marketed 151 greeting card designs for Sweetest Day. American Greetings marketed 178.

Criticism

Since Sweetest Day was invented by commercial interests which stood to profit from such a holiday, dissenting Cleveland residents refer to it as a "Hallmark holiday" (although it was not invented by Hallmark Cards company).

References

  1. Cridlin, Jay (2006-10-21). "A sweet day for Hallmark". St Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  2. ^ Sweetest Day, retailerconfectioners.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  3. ^ The Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 15, 2005. Cite error: The named reference "ReferenceA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. The New York Times, October 8, 1922.
  6. The New York Times, October 10, 1927.
  7. The New York Times, September 25, 1937.
  8. ^ The New York Times, October 18, 1940.
  9. Orsborn, Kimberly (2006-10-20). "Sweetest Day born in Ohio". Mount Vernon News. Archived from the original on 2007-03-26. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  10. Arnett, Lisa. "Sweet wine o' mine". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-02-21.

Further reading

  • Maud Lavin, ed. (2004-10-04). The Business of Holidays. Monacelli. ISBN 1-58093-150-2.
  • Scott C. Martin (1997). "Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays". Journal of Social History. 31.
  • Bennett Madison and James Dignan (2002-12-28). I Hate Valentine's Day. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 0-689-87372-7.

External links

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