# Enough with the "Hallmark" holidays already! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 16, 2001, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697 "2001-10-16T12:23:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/1 "2001-10-16T12:23:31Z")
I’m at the mall the other day and walk by the “Hallmark” card store when I see it. A sign saying, “Sweetest Day is October 20th” Since when is “Sweetest Day” any kind of holiday? Is business so BAD that you have to go and start making up your own fucking stupid holiday? Why bother? You already have your FUCKING CHRISTMAS PROMOTIONS out well before Halloween. Tell you what. Why don’t all of you Hallmark exec’s go find a nice, thoughtful, “Sweetest Day” card… and shove it up your anthrax-laced shit hole! God help me… I HATE HATE HATE commercialism. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/2 "2001-10-16T12:41:55Z")
Geez, is Sweetest Day coming up so soon? I’ve got to get to Hallmark’s and pick up some cards. It’s okay, though; I had to go anyway to get a birthday card for the cat. Oh, and I need to stop on the way and get a cat. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/3 "2001-10-16T12:43:26Z")
I’ll bet that you’re the sort of curmudgeon who isn’t going to give your sweetie a box of Kleenex[sup]tm[/sup] and a Hallmark[sup]tm[/sup]card tomorrow for National Nostril Day. For shame. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/4 "2001-10-16T12:51:55Z")
::Throws **Dragwyr’s** box of chocolates and Hallmark Shoebox Greeting[sup]tm[/sup] in the trash and mopes home:: ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/5 "2001-10-16T13:03:24Z")
Don’t forget today is National Boss Day [sub]no, really it is…[/sub] so get your slavedriver a new bullhorn and whip for those important department meetings! ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/6 "2001-10-16T13:07:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll bet that you’re the sort of curmudgeon who isn’t going to give your sweetie a box of Kleenex[sup]tm[/sup] and a > Hallmark[sup]tm[/sup] card tomorrow for National Nostril Day. > > For shame. > [@](#): > > ::Throws Dragwyr’s box of chocolates and Hallmark Shoebox Greeting[sup]tm[/sup] in the trash and mopes home:: LOL! Those were the funniest things I’ve read in a week. Fenris and throatshot, you two deserve cards just for being yourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/7 "2001-10-16T13:09:37Z")
So I’ve told my staff. I don’t think they’re buying it. ---
**Author:** ![Ayesha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Ayesha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ayesha)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/8 "2001-10-16T13:15:57Z")
Dragwyr I bet you don’t even care that this is national e-card month either, do you ? Prove it you say. Go here and check it out. [http://www.bluemountain.com/](http://www.bluemountain.com/) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/9 "2001-10-16T13:17:19Z")
I hate the concept of Sweetest Day, as well, but it ain’t recent. I remember it being advertised and “celebrated” as far back as 93 or 94. This [link](http://www.firstregistry.com/sweetestday_history.asp) states that it originated in Cleveland about 60 years ago. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t originally a romantic holiday but rather one to celebrate poor, neglected and dispossesed people. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/10 "2001-10-16T13:18:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dragwyr \* > \*\*Fenris and throatshot, you two deserve cards just for being yourselves. \*\* Thanks, but silliness aside for just a sec… What the hell _is_ Sweetest Day? Really. Is it a day to compare the sweetness levels of various sweeteners? Or what? If it were me, I’d say “Sugar” wins. Fenrs ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/11 "2001-10-16T13:29:25Z")
I don’t get it. Is Sweetest Day for people you think are sweet? If so, is is oriented towards romantic-sweet or cute-sweet, e.g. kids? Or is it a day for giving sweets, like chocolate or candy? Or is it literally the “Sweetest” day of the year, when you should be really nice to people? Or does it refer to the slang term “Sweet,” e.g. “good, serendipidous, or profitable?” If they’re going to invent holidays, explain them, dammit! Actually, according the a number of sources, this idiotic holiday is about fifty or sixty years old. Of course, according to some sources, Abner Doubleday invented baseball and Christopher Columbus was the only guy who though the Earth was round. Since every source I can find claims “Sweetest Day” was invented by an unnamed “man in Cleveland” in the 1940s, and since every cite seems to be the same word-for-word, my guess is: It’s all bullshit, and the guy in Cleveland never existed. It’s also apparently a uniquely American thing; nobody I ask here (Canada) has ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/12 "2001-10-16T13:41:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > **every source I can find claims “Sweetest Day” was invented by an unnamed "man in Cleveland"** This would be Cleveland, Ohio, right? The home of the **American Greetings** card company? ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/13 "2001-10-16T13:42:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*I don’t get it. Is Sweetest Day for people you think are sweet? If so, is is oriented towards romantic-sweet or cute-sweet, e.g. kids? Or is it a day for giving sweets, like chocolate or candy? \*\* Isn’t that what “St. Valentine’s Day” is for? The way I figure it, Hallmark wasn’t making enough money from Halloween cards and it hadn’t yet considered selling Christmas stuff in September and October, so it came up with “Sweetest Day” to help make up for lost profits. Well, two can play at that game. I declare that from now on, October 16, will be “National Dragwyr Day” and it shall be celebrated by everyone in the country sending me a U.S. One Dollar bill in a card designed especially for that day. Hey, if Hallmark can profit by creating a holiday, then why can’t I? ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/14 "2001-10-16T13:44:48Z")
Of course, I’ll have to copyright my name and charge a royalty to every card company for using it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/15 "2001-10-16T13:47:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*This would be Cleveland, Ohio, right? The home of the **American Greetings** card company? \*\* Why, YES! And it’s not coincidental, IIRC, which is why I was taken aback by the OP’s mention of Hallmark promoting it. That is a recent phenomenon. They used to ignore it in favor of their own manufactured holidays. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/16 "2001-10-16T13:54:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dropzone \* > \*\*And it’s not coincidental, IIRC, which is why I was taken aback by the OP’s mention of Hallmark promoting it. That is a recent phenomenon. They used to ignore it in favor of their own manufactured holidays. \*\* American Greetings… Hallmark… They’re all pretty much the same. You may interchange “Hallmark” for "American Greetings and it still would be stupid and wrong to make up a holiday to pad profits. Anything for a buck. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/17 "2001-10-16T14:12:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Fenris and throatshot, you two deserve cards just for being yourselves. \*\* ::blushing:: Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/18 "2001-10-16T14:50:00Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by dropzone \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*IIRC, which is why I was taken aback by the OP’s mention of Hallmark promoting it. That is a recent phenomenon. They used to ignore it in favor of their own manufactured holidays. \*\* And which holidays were manufactured by Hallmark? I ask because I look forward to ranting about them as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sorrel554](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@sorrel554](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sorrel554)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/19 "2001-10-16T18:18:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dragwyr \* > Well, two can play at that game. I declare that from now on, October 16, will be “National Dragwyr Day” and it shall be celebrated by everyone in the country sending me a U.S. One Dollar bill in a card designed especially for that day. Hey, if Hallmark can profit by creating a holiday, then why can’t I? Hey now! Today is my birthday, and my whole life I have had to share my birthday with Sweetest Day and/or Bosses’ Day, TWO COMPLETELY MADE-UP AND UNCELEBRATED HOLIDAYS!! So if you’re going to invent a new holiday on October 16 with celebratory money-collecting, then, by God, I’m getting a cut! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697/20 "2001-10-16T19:56:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\* Of course, according to some sources, Abner Doubleday invented baseball_\* Okay, if he didn’t, then who really did? Next you’ll tell me James Naismith didn’t invent basketball… Also, wasn’t Valentine’s Day originally a greeting card holiday? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-hallmark-holidays-already/87697.md?page=2)