Ah, another Sweetest Day come and gone. Of all the holidays, Sweetest Day is the most entertaining. And it's not because you go out to dinner or go to some romantic location or even the little gifts that are given. It's all about going to some greeting card store a few days before the holiday, and listening to all the other guys."Stupid made up holiday!" or "I don't know why I have to buy her anything, it's not even a real holiday!" or the most popular "It's not even a real holiday! Hallmark made it up to sell more candy and cards." No matter when or where I go to buy my Sweetest Day card, it is guaranteed I will hear one of the aforementioned comments. Normally, I just chalk their anger or annoyance up to the fact that they are spending money on what they feel is a repeat holiday. I mean, we already have Valentine's Day. I mean, it's not like we have Halloween in October and Spooky Day in June. Although, that would be awesome.
This time, however, the comments started me thinking. I tried to recall if I had ever heard the origin story behind Sweetest Day. For the life of me, I couldn't come up with anything. So, I asked all my friends and no one knew how it had come about either. Even the people working in the greeting card stores were under the impression it was a made up holiday. Having exhausted all my living breathing sources, I turned to the one thing I knew could answer my question. I looked to Google.
Hello, old friend. All it takes is a few keystrokes and click here and there and ta-da. I have the origin of Sweetest Day. And all I can say to all you people out there who think Sweetest Day is not a real holiday and was just made up...well, in a way you are right.
Here's the deal. Sweetest Day originated way back in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. It wasn't started by Hallmark or American Greetings or any other card company, but by a man named Herbet Birch Kingston. Kingston worked for a candy company, was a well known philanthropist and was known for giving back to those who weren't as fortunate as him. He wanted to bring some happiness to the lives of orphans, shut-ins and other people he felt had been forgotten. So, with the help of a few friends and a few movie stars, he began giving candy and small gifts to those he felt were in need.
Over the years, Sweetest Day, originally known as The Sweetest Day of the Year, has evolved into a time for people to express romantic love and to show appreciation to friends.
I may also surprise some people that Sweetest Day is not an officially recognized holiday throughout the world or even in all the of the United States. It's primarily observed only in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast. To this day, Ohio still is number one when it comes to Sweetest Day sales.
So, there you go guys. The official origin story for Sweetest Day. I guess that means we have to stop complaining about that day, but we could start complaining about Labor Day. I mean, what's up with that day. Right guys.
