What is Sweetest Day? Unofficial holiday has Cleveland roots

Sweetest Day lands on Oct.16 this year, here's what you need to know.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio-- Feeling sweet? Today marks the unofficial holiday popular in the Midwest: Sweetest Day.

You might roll your eyes and think the day was just invented. But Sweetest Day has roots dating to 1921. Herbert Birch Kingston, a Cleveland candy company employee and philanthropist, and others used the holiday to distribute candy and small gifts to orphans, seniors, and the poor.

The idea is similar to Valentine’s Day, but Sweetest Day isn’t limited to romantic relationships. You can celebrate family members, significant others, and even coworkers.

“In the early 1930s, movie stars got into the act. Ann Pennington distributed candy to 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys, and Theda Bara gave candy to theater-goers and patients in Cleveland hospitals,” Hallmark’s website says.

Sweetest Day is typically celebrated on the third Saturday in October.

In 1937, the National Confectioners Association made an effort to have the holiday federally recognized, but it eventually fell flat. Still, Sweetest Day is often observed in the Midwest including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

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