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Sunday, October 17, 2010

I Wish the World Understood Sweetest Day




Every year Sweetest Day passes without much ado. A few people in Cleveland go on dates, and give cards and candy.

It makes me sad to hear that people think Sweetest Day is just another "couple's holiday" or another card company's attempt to make money. I don't know what went wrong in the inception of this holiday that the spirit of it went so awry.

Sweetest Day started out as a holiday to show kindness to others. It was a way to brighten up October with a day that was the Sweetest Day of the year.


"Sweetest Day always falls on the third Saturday in October. The first Sweetest Day took place around 1922 in Cleveland....
Herbert Birch Kingston and friends began celebrating by distributing candy and gifts to orphans, shut-ins, the disabled and other groups that were often left out of holiday celebrations. Sweetest Day then got some early promotions help from movie stars.



Ann Pennington gave boxes of candy to 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys, and Theda Bara gave away 10,000 boxes of candy to patients in hospitals in Cleveland and to people who came to see her films at a Cleveland theater.

Within 10 years, the day had become so popular that Cleveland officially set the same Saturday in October every year as Sweetest Day. In the following years, the idea of Sweetest Day has spread though the Midwest and is largely considered a second Valentine’s Day, although the holiday is not mean to focus exclusively on romantic love. Cleveland is still the most popular place to celebrate Sweetest Day, but nearby states and bigger cities have also taken to celebrating the day every year." - Heidi Ross 10/10.

I wish I could teach the world about Sweetest Day. It has so much potential. The world needs more kindness, more generosity, more celebration of the goodness in others.

2 comments:

mamagloria said...

I think that sweetest and valentines day are not just for couples but for anyone you love. It can also be a day to celebrate the love God gave us through His precious gift. His son Jesus.

Shari said...

absolutely! well said!