A Romantic Holiday You Might Not Know About

 

The third Saturday in October is Sweetest Day. As a romance writer I like this day, and the expression of love it’s come to represent, almost as much as Valentine’s Day. Like Valentine’s Day, my husband never fails to get me a Sweetest Day gift of some sort.

My most memorable gift was a jar of olives. He and my father, who didn’t have much money at the time, went grocery shopping and came up with gifting me and Mom, who had diabetes, a non-sugary treat. So Dad brought Mom a jar of green olives, and my husband brought me a jar of black olives. Mom and I ate them all. After all, isn’t it the thought that counts?

But did you know that Sweetest Day at its core isn’t about romance? Its origins are rooted in gifting the less fortunate with boxes of candy.

The first Sweetest Day was October 10, 1921 and was celebrated in Cleveland, Ohio. According the The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the holiday was planned by 12 confectioners chaired by candy maker C.C. Hartzel. The Sweetest Day in the Year Committee, and some of the biggest movie stars of that era, distributed over 20,000 boxes of candy to the poor, orphans, old folks and newsboys.

In the years following the first Sweetest Day, other candy makers had a go at trying to create their own Sweetest holiday. In 1922 a group of candy makers in New York tried to make October 8 Candy Day. Then in 1921, the New York Times reported that the week beginning on October 10, 1927 would be known as Sweetest Week. On September 25, 1937, The New York Times announced that The National Confectioners Association had launched a "movement throughout the candy industry" to rank Sweetest Day on the same level as Mother's Day, Father's Day, and St. Valentine's Day. In 1940, another Sweetest Day was proclaimed on October 19 and more than 10,000 boxes of candy were distributed by the Sweetest Day Committee. Eventually, the third Saturday in October was declared Sweetest Day.

Somewhere along the way the holiday morphed from a charitable promotion to show love to those who need it, to a romantic holiday. Oddly enough, Sweetest Day is only celebrated in about 11 states, and is most popular in the Midwest, especially Ohio.

While Sweetest Day started out with gifting boxes of candy, the gifts, like the holiday, morphed. Today romantic cards, jewelry, candy, flowers and—yes, even olive—can be acceptable Sweetest Day gifts. After all, it’s all about showing someone you care.

 

What about you? Do you celebrate Sweetest Day?

Don’t forget to comment on any post now through October 8^th to get your name in the drawing for Solve by Christmas, by Amber Schamel. Winners will be announce in the October 9^th issue of the Weekly Windup. Paperback giveaways are for U.S. residents only.

 

Catherine Castle is the author of the multi-award-winning inspirational suspense romance, The Nun and the Narc, and the sweet romantic comedy,  A Groom for Mama. Catherine loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, watching movies, and the theatre. In the winter she quilts and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place is in her garden. She’s a passionate gardener who won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. 

 

Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. Her most recent release, A Groom for Mama, is a sweet romantic comedy from Soul Mate Publishing.  Both books are available on Amazon.