Before I moved to Chicago early last year, I’d never even heard of “Sweetest Day.” Now, all of the sudden, I see banner ads on the internet, hear radio ads, and even see television ads “reminding” me that Sweetest Day is drawing nigh, and that only a total cad would allow the loved ones in his life experience this day without flowers/candy/a custom teddy bear.
So, my questions are as follows:
Is Sweetest Day really a transparent attempt by Hallmark, FTD, Russel Stover, et al. to increase sales during a traditionally slow time? Kind of like Valentine’s Day II?
Where’d this come from? Have I spent my first 25 years in blithe ignorance of a deep and meaningful celebration of…erm…well…Sweetness?
Hi, Opal!
Is this a Chicago thing?
Are people really ridiculous enough to allow the manufacturers of gifts to decide when one is appropriate?
I moved from Chicago a few years ago, and the place has gone down.
From http://www.firstregistry.com:
Sweetest day is the third Saturday of October. The origin of this holiday comes from Cleveland. Over 60 years ago a Cleveland man believing that the city’s orphaned, sick, and aged people were forgotten and neglected, conceived the idea of showing them love and support. With the help of friends and family he distributed small gifts on a Saturday in October. During the following years, a lot more Clevelanders adopted the idea and started celebrating that day, which they named “Sweetest Day”. During the last decades, the tradition started spreading around in other states all over the country and became an occasion to remember not only the sick, the aged, the orphaned, but also friends, relatives, and associates whose helpfulness of kindness we have enjoyed.
So:
1 - Yes.
2 - I find it hard to call it “deep and meaningful.”
3 - Im not Opal!
4 - Gawd, no.
5 - Many are. Don’t date any of those.
Suprisingly, it does. I recently read that Sweetest Day originated with someone (a Chicagoian, I think) who started it as a day to give gifts to underprivleged children. I’ll be damned if I can find the link though…
Odd. The story I’d always heard (from an American Greetings employee) was that AG just started putting it on all their calenders, and that the other card companies (Hallmark, etc.) knew a good thing when they saw it, and followed suit.
I’m extremely skeptical of any explanation involving charitable donations to the needy, since that bears exactly zero resemblance to the current observance of the day, and why would such a venture be called “Sweetest Day” in the first place?
It’s a messageboard thing. Apparently (before my time) OpalCat had an issue with people making lists with only 2 items. Lists had to have at least 3 items. So “Hi Opal!” became the third point in a list, and thus was tradition created.
My mama, who turns 58 this Sweetest’s Day, has been telling me since I was small that she was born on this “holiday.” We’re from Virginia, so it isn’t regional. Of course, Hallmark brainwashed Mom years ago, so…
By “regional,” I didn’t necessarily mean it’s just in Chicago (as has been shown). All I know is that it’s not something that I, here in Massachusetts, have ever heard of.
I live in NJ, grew up in NY, went to school in Pittsburgh–and I never heard of it until this year, and only because I read about it here on the SDMB. Sounds totally asinine.
Ok, I managed to find another link that covers the same basic information as the one I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, it’s basically and advertisment so I’ll spare you and just quote the text:
"How It Started
Over 60 years ago, a Cleveland man, believing that the city’s orphans and shut-ins too often felt forgotten and neglected, conceived the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this through the distribution of small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he distributed these small remembrances on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to participate in the celebration ceremony, which came to be called “Sweetest Day”. In time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small remembrance. And soon the idea spread to other cities all over the country".
I can’t say how factual any of this is. If only we knew someone who could substantiate it. Man, he’d have to be, like, the world’s smartest human or something…
He was a Polish general that assisted the Americans in the American revolution (something with calvary I think). Chicago has one of the largest Polish populations(IIRC its up there with Warsaw) so naturally it was a good excuse for a party.