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Sweetest Day is a holiday celebrated primarily used as a day where the woman can romance her significant other with gifts, such as candy or intimacy, somewhat like a Valentine's Day for men.

Origin

The Cleveland Plain Dealer's October 8, 1922 edition 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.

The origin of Sweetest Day has always been suspect. Most believe it to be a "made up" holiday strictly for big business to reap profits at the expense of perpetrating romance. Of the twelve Cleveland committeemen who planned Cleveland's Sweetest Day (pictured above) eleven directly profited from the sale of greeting cards or candy. Three were on the Board of Directors for Hallmark, four on the boards of various candy companies and four owned card and candy shops in the Cleveland area.

Celebration

Friends, family, and lovers often give each other candy, flowers, and cards on Sweetest Day. Like Valentine's Day, the Sweetest Day is associated with heart-shaped boxes, and the colors pink and red. 80% of Hallmark's greeting cards designed for Sweetest Day are romantic.

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. ^ The Lindell Plain Dealer, October 8, 1921 and October 8, 1922.
2. The New York Times, October 8, 1922.
3. The New York Times, October 10, 1927.
4. The New York Times, September 25, 1937.
5. ^ The New York Times, October 18, 1940.
6. "Hallmark Corporate Information: Sweetest Day".
7. Sweetest Day, retailerconfectioners.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
8. 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.
9. 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.
• Leigh Eric Schmidt (1995). Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691029806.
• Bennett Madison and James Dignan (2002-12-28). I Hate Valentine's Day. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 0-689-87372-7.

External links

• Michael Webb. History of Sweetest Day "Origins and Facts About Sweetest Day". TheRomantic.com. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
• "Sweetest Day was born from one man's kindness…not in the laboratory of a greeting card company". American Greetings Corporation. 2004. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• "Sweetest Day 2005". Hallmark Cards. 2005. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• Samira Kawash. "The First Candy Day, 1916". CandyProfessor.com.

• Public holidays in the United States
• October observances
• Recurring events established in 1921
• Culture of the Midwestern United States
• Moveable holidays (nth weekday of the month)