Sweetest Day

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Isotope23 (talk | contribs) at 14:04, 2 November 2006 (No, it's not necessary to put an image of him in the article... create a wikicommons gallery for all these extraneous images.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Sweetest Day
Observed byMostly Midwestern United States
TypeLocal
CelebrationsRemembering friends and loved ones, buying cards and candy
DateThird Saturday in October

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[1]. It is described by Retail Confectioners International, a confection trade organization, as "much more important for candymakers in some regions than in others (Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo 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."[2] Sweetest Day has also been referred to as a "concocted promotion"[3] created by the candy industry solely to increase sales of candy. Leigh Eric Schmidt traces the origin back to 1910 in his book Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays, where he argues that "Sweetest Day" is a ploy and later incarnation of the failed attempt by the candy industry to create a "Candy Day" holiday.[4] Persistant claims have also been made that Sweetest Day was manufactured by the American Greetings Company or Hallmark Cards in order to boost sales. Both companies deny this, though both have benefited financially from Sweetest Day. In 2006, Hallmark marketed 151 greeting card designs for Sweetest Day. American Greetings marketed 178.[5]

Origin

File:12 Founders of Sweetest Day 2.JPEG
Cleveland's Sweetest Day in the Year Committee 1922
File:10,000 CHEERED BY CANDY GIFTS.jpg
10,000 Cheered By Candy Gifts on Cleveland's First Sweetest Day (October 8, 1921)
File:Emil Celebrates Sweetest Day.JPEG
"CANDY DAY" SCORES BIG HIT on October 8, 1921.
File:The Queen of Sweetest Day 1922.JPEG
Appointed by The Sweetest Day in the Year Committee in 1922, the first Queen of Sweetest Day was 82-year-old Vera Sissons.

The origin of Sweetest Day is frequently attributed to candy company employee Herbert Birch Kingston as an act of philanthropy.[6] However, Bill Lubinger, a reporter for The Plain Dealer, 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."[7] The Cleveland Plain Dealer's October 8, 1921 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[8]. 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.[9]

According to The New York Times, "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.[10] The week was punctuated by the First National Candy Exposition which was held on the fourth floor of the Grand Central Palace. More than 70 exhibitors displayed their candies at the exposition.[10]

On August 10, 1937, a headline on page 38 of The New York Times announced "TO EXPLOIT GIFT-GIVING: Candy Men Set Oct 21 for Event to Be Called 'Sweetest Day'"[10] and detailed how "representatives of retail stores and candy manufacturers meeting at the Hotel Pennsylvania...set October 21 as Sweetest Day when the World's Fair will have a pageant for the occasion." The purpose of the promotional event was stated to be "to exploit the sentiment of gift-giving on various holidays." It was reported that "the backers hope to include manufacturers and retailers of other types of gift merchandise in the movement."[10] William C. Kimberly, secretary of The Association of Manufacturers of Candy and Chocolate of the State of New York and chairman of the Sweetest Day Committee. stated "...an opportunity exists for businessmen in the city to develop a special gift-giving occasion which might compare with Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or Easter."[10]

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.[11] The article reported that "the volume of candy sales on Sweetest Day in Cleveland last year exceeded by 18 per cent any other day in 1936." The article further stated that "some retail stores reported that Sweetest Day candy sales exceeded those of any Saturday in the year by more than 60 per cent."[11] The National Confectioners Association also announced in the article that "the movement to gain national recognition of Sweetest Day originated in Cleveland and Cincinnati, and it has spread to Detroit, Buffalo, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, and many other cities and communities."[11]

A Sweetest Day was also proclaimed by Candymakers in New York City on October 19, 1940. The promotional event was marked by the distribution of more than 10,000 boxes of candy by the Sweetest Day Committee.[12] 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.[12] 600 boxes of candy were also delivered to the presidents of the Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Big Sister groups of New York.[12]

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 Valentine's Day, it is still celebrated in parts of the United States, despite persistent allegations of being a "Hallmark holiday." [13]

References

  1. ^ St Petersburg Times
  2. ^ Retail Confectioners International -- Sweetest Day
  3. ^ The Cleveland Plain Dealer October 15, 2005
  4. ^ Leigh Eric Schmidt (1995-09-01). Consumer rites : the buying & selling of American holidays. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691029806. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Mount Vernon News
  6. ^ Sweetest Day History and Facts at theromantic.com
  7. ^ The Cleveland Plain Dealer October 15, 2005
  8. ^ The Cleveland Plain Dealer October 8, 1921 and October 8, 1922
  9. ^ The Cleveland Plain Dealer October 8, 1921 and October 8, 1922
  10. ^ a b c d e The New York Times October 10, 1927
  11. ^ a b c The New York Times September 25, 1937
  12. ^ a b c The New York Times, October 18, 1940
  13. ^ Sweetest-Day The Chicago Tribune

Further reading

  • Maud Lavin, ed. (2004-10-04). The Business of Holidays. Monacelli. ISBN 1580931502. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • 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 0689873727. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Template:HallmarkHoliday

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sweetest_Day&oldid=85252572"