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I was recently on the phone with my cousin who is from a different state than I am. With it being so close to Sweetest Day, I figured I would bring the subject up. Upon my inquiring of the holiday, my cousin, sounding very perplexed, asked, "What's Sweetest Day?" As a native of Ohio, I was shocked at her unfamiliarity with this special day as it's a very celebrated day here. Soon after, I found out that Sweetest Day isn't really a day that everyone partakes in, so I thought I might enlighten those of you who don't celebrate it.
Sweetest Day was started in Cleveland, Ohio sometime around 1922 by a man by the name of Herbert Birch Kingston. This great philanthropist aspired to bring joy and happiness to the poor and suffering people of society. Herbert, being an employee of a candy company, decided that in order to do that, he would deliver candy to these people, and with the assistance of some of his friends, he made his deliveries to orphaned children, the elderly, those with disabilities, and other groups of underprivileged people.
Herbert Kingston's great deed soon inspired many others to do the same, and within a few short years Sweetest Day was acknowledged by Cleveland as an official holiday. Before long, it spread to the entire Great Lakes region and even to some parts of the rest of America. Sweetest Day is now celebrated on the third Saturday of every October by anyone who wishes to bring cheer to the less fortunate, a significant other, a family member, or a friend.
Today the Sweetest Day tradition still remains. My school celebrated with a flower delivery fundraiser. We were given the chance to write down the name of the person we wanted to send a flower to and then, for a dollar, we could choose to send either a white, red, or pink flower. White for a friend, red for love, and pink for a secret admirer.
Along with flowers, there are many ways people celebrate this special occasion. Some couples will go out to dinner, some friends will give each other various chocolates and candies, families might exchange cards, and some just might give a nice little compliment to let the other person know that they care.
This year's Sweetest Day was celebrated this past Saturday, October 16th, but even if you missed it, it's not too late to do something sweet for someone special!
This is xoxkitkat, agitated that she forgot her clever ending for this article.
Happy Sweetest Day!
Author's Note: Sources: http://www.sweetestday.com/
http://www.theholidayspot.com/sweetest_day/history.htm
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