Sweetest Day - October 17th

[#1]

Growing up we seemed to have a few extra “holidays” that we celebrated in addition to the traditional ones.  Sweetest Day, the third Saturday of October, was one of those holidays.  As kids we thought of this as another Valentine’s Day and while we were told it was a legitimate holiday we half believed that my Dad invented such days so he had an excuse to buy “real candy” (translation; chocolate from a candy store that met his standards).  He had grown up working in his dad’s candy store making candy and ice cream so he had some definite ideas about what he considered quality ice cream and chocolate.  Anyway, this is one of those traditions we’ve decided to carry on with our girls and I realized there must be a little more history than I have retained from my childhood memories.  And indeed there is!  Depending on who’s account you believe it was founded in the early 1920s in Cleveland, Ohio by either a candy store employee  who wanted to bring cheer to those often forgotten so he started distributing candy and small gifts to children in orphanages and shut-ins, or a committee of 12 confectioners who developed the promotion to drive candy sales.  Over the years the meaning of the holiday expanded to an occasion to celebrate all the people who make your life special and the traditional gifts are similar to Valentine’s Day – candy, flowers, and chocolate.  Given its Ohio roots, it’s apparently a fairly regional holiday with the greatest observance in the Great Lakes Region. So while I may never know the “real story”, we will continue the tradition of celebrating the sweeties in our lives with a special chocolate treat.  Do you celebrate Sweetest Day?

[#2]

I'm from Cleveland and all my childhood like I witnessed my father bringing my mother candy on Sweetest Day..   I'd forgotten about it as a formal holiday.  I need to make sure I tell my man for next year of belated recognition.