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Happy Sweetest Day

The best portion of a good man's life - his little, nameless,
unremembered acts of kindness and love. ~ William Wordsworth

Today is Sweetest Day, which isn't saying much. It's not really a holiday even though Hallmark makes cards for it. It's not a day to celebrate even though The Store sells lobster tails and fillet Mignon and chocolate covered strawberries in a special display. Sweetest Day isn't even celebrated around the country, much less the world. So I thought I'd tell you just a little bit about it.

Sweetest Day has become something akin to Valentine's Day, a day to give gifts to your sweetest, so to speak. But it's origins are more significant--it began in Cleveland, Ohio in 1922 by a man who worked in a candy shop. He wanted to offer a gesture of hope to orphans and the needy, so on a Saturday in October he passed out candy and little gifts to the overlooked.

It became known as a day to pay special attention to those with less, but eventually it was distorted and became a day to give gifts to sweethearts, whether they were in need or not. And it became a day when The Store could display fillet Mignon and lobster tails, two of the most expensive things the butcher has to offer.

So, happy Sweetest Day, a day when it might be better to up the World Vision contribution instead of buying pricey meat.

Comments

dive said…
Hoorah for capitalism!
Find something nice and good and exploit it for commercial gain.

Sorry, Robyn; I'm celebrating Cynical Sunday (every sunday with me).
But happy Sweetest Day to you (in its original intention).
7:40 AM
Neponset River Bridge Dig said…
This must be an Ohio thing because I never heard of it here in ole Beantown
7:51 AM
Scout said…
Dive, I really do believe that commercialism makes the world go round. It's got problems, but I don't want to throw the baby out, as the saying goes. I just want to hold on to the real meaning of things.

Rich, it is a regional thing, but Hallmark still has a big line of cards to acknowledge it.
8:08 AM
Scout said…
Oh, and Dive, I think we deserve a post on why every Sunday is Cynical Sunday.
8:08 AM
dive said…
I'll work on that one Robyn.
8:15 AM
Sassy Sundry said…
Oh my. I'm afraid I'm a bit with Dive on this one (I call Valentine's Day Tacky Hallmark Holiday and wear black---even when I do have a boyfriend). Still, giving candy to orphans is a nice gesture. I like candy, too, so I suppose I could get into it.
6:58 PM
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