# WTF is "Sweetest Day"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 20, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222 "2006-10-20T14:13:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Flea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d78d45/32.png) [@Flea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/1 "2006-10-20T14:13:19Z")
I keep hearing about this Holiday, and I’m totally unfamiliar with it. I assume it’s all a marketing ploy, since it pretty much sounds like Valentine’s Day Redux. I am originally from the East coast, DC area specifically, and this is unheard of. Now I come to Chicago and it’s this huge deal. Is this a regional thing? Have I just had my head under a rock? :smack: Where did this come from? ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/2 "2006-10-20T14:15:40Z")
From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetest_Day): > [@](#): > > Sweetest Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region and parts of the Northeast United States[1] (with Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo, New York being the biggest Sweetest Day cities[2]) on the third Saturday in October. It is described by Retail Confectioners International, a Candy Trade Organization, as an “occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.”[3] Critics call Sweetest Day an artificial holiday created by the Candy and Greeting Card Industries solely to boost the revenues of candy and greeting card companies. I’ve never heard of Sweetest Day before, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Flea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d78d45/32.png) [@Flea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/3 "2006-10-20T14:17:13Z")
Well, the part that explains about the Great Lakes region probably explains why I haven’t heard of it before. Does anyone celebrate this in lieu of or in addition to V-Day? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/4 "2006-10-20T14:19:55Z")
I’ve heard about it here, but I don’t know anyone who’s ever taken it seriously. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/5 "2006-10-20T14:21:09Z")
My boss always buys something for his wife on Sweetest Day and I had never heard of it. He’s originally from Detroit. Makes sense now. He does not do it in lieu of Valentine’s Day, but in addition to. I think being down here and observing a special day that not many people recognize is something special for him and his wife. ---
**Author:** ![Flea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d78d45/32.png) [@Flea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/6 "2006-10-20T14:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=ShelliBean] I think being down here and observing a special day that not many people recognize is something special for him and his wife. [/QUOTE] Now see, that sounds sweet in theory, but I can’t help but think “SUCKER!!!” 😃 Maybe I’m too jaded for more than one pink-and-heart-themed celebration a year. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/7 "2006-10-20T14:29:30Z")
So THAT’S where the Simpsons came up with Love Day! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/8 "2006-10-20T14:49:21Z")
I’ve never heard of this. Is it a US-only thing? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/9 "2006-10-20T15:09:09Z")
I’ve never heard of this, and I spent an eternity (felt that way, amyway) in Rochester, N.Y., which is a.) on a Great Lake and b.) Near Buffalo, which the above posts indicate _does_ have this. But it’s foreign to me. They certainly never had it anywhere else I’ve lived. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/10 "2006-10-20T15:57:55Z")
We celebrate it but low key. Flowers or candy for her, hot sex for both of us. Not a bad way to spend an October evening. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/11 "2006-10-20T16:48:21Z")
We’re from Chicago, but we don’t celebrate it. Hell - for the real deal - Valentine’s - we have a card pinned up on the wall in the living room and just resign it every year. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/12 "2006-10-20T17:03:15Z")
Wow, how the hell the candy makers thought they needed an extra candy holiday in late October is beyond me. That said, I’ve still got to go shopping for something for this sweetest day… ---
**Author:** ![clnilsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@clnilsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clnilsen)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/13 "2006-10-20T18:16:21Z")
[QUOTE=Flea] Now see, that sounds sweet in theory, but I can’t help but think “SUCKER!!!” 😃 Maybe I’m too jaded for more than one pink-and-heart-themed celebration a year. ☹ [/QUOTE] Yeah, it’s complete BS. I have heard from people I know that work at American Gretings (HQ’ed in Cleveland) that they are the source of this lumbering horror. Unfortunately I don’t have a cite for it… Unfortunately for those of us in the region, it’s an “Avoid at your own peril!” day too :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/14 "2006-10-20T18:24:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve never heard of this, and I spent an eternity (felt that way, amyway) in Rochester, N.Y., which is a.) on a Great Lake and b.) Near Buffalo, which the above posts indicate does have this. But it’s foreign to me. They certainly never had it anywhere else I’ve lived. I’d heard of it when I was living in western NY a few years back. It’s obviously a marketing ploy. But if they’ve convinced your wife or girlfriend it’s a real event then it’s a successful marketing ploy and you might as well accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/15 "2006-10-20T18:32:18Z")
[QUOTE=fluiddruid] From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetest_Day): I’ve never heard of Sweetest Day before, myself. [/QUOTE] I am suspicious that somebody in the greeting card or candy industry wrote that part of the entry. I spent parts of five years living near Chicago (and I was always there on the third Saturday in October), and I’ve never heard of this thing. This sounds insidious. I don’t like the fact that these industries now wield as much holiday power as the government or a major religion. If anybody tries to bring it to downstate New York, you’ll find me running through the streets with an axe and a can of gasoline, running into greeting card stores. With my girlfriend, I hope. It could be a nice night out. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/16 "2006-10-20T18:38:06Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] If anybody tries to bring it to downstate New York, you’ll find me running through the streets with an axe and a can of gasoline, running into greeting card stores. With my girlfriend, I hope. It could be a nice night out. [/QUOTE] See? You’re already making Sweetest Day plans. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/17 "2006-10-20T18:42:34Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] hot sex for both of us. [/QUOTE] But that’s no different from any other evening, right? I’ve heard of Sweetest Day (mostly on pre-printed calendars) but have never celebrated it. i’ve lived in Chicago but mostly in the Northeast. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/18 "2006-10-20T18:46:45Z")
[QUOTE=clnilsen] Yeah, it’s complete BS. I have heard from people I know that work at American Gretings (HQ’ed in Cleveland) that they are the source of this lumbering horror. Unfortunately I don’t have a cite for it… [/QUOTE] It was NOT instituted by American Greetings or any other card company, but was rather an outgrowth of the “Candy Day” which was pushed in the teens by the Confectioners Assoc. Ohio was certainly the primary state that promoted this. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/19 "2006-10-20T18:52:01Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] This sounds insidious. [/QUOTE] Even more insidious are the stern looks of the candy manufacturers on that Wikipedia picture where the creation of Sweetest Day is announced: “Behold the twelve elders of Sweetest Day! Bow down before them! You WILL buy your sweetheart ™ or closest approximation a gift of love (hereafter referred to as GoL) on this day, October 21. WE COMMAND YOU ALL. BUY CANDY! BUY CANDY!” I mean, they could have smiled, at least. ---
**Author:** ![toadbriar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@toadbriar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadbriar)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222/20 "2006-10-20T18:52:34Z")
I’m from Buffalo and never heard of this day being celebrated. I have seen it printed on calendars but would not have been able to guess it was in October. Meh. It’s a rerun of holiday that’s boring the first time around. If we have to double up, I’d rather have a second Halloween in February. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-sweetest-day/377222.md?page=2)