MAINHome Life Holidays & Observances Sweetest Day

While still not as popular as Valentine's Day, the observance of Sweetest Day — on the 3rd Saturday in the month of October — originally began in the early 20th century to honor sweethearts, close friends, relatives or employees with special gift of sweets or chocolate.

This year, Sweetest Day is celebrated on Saturday, October 17, 2009.

Sometimes criticized as a "Hallmark holiday", Sweetest Day was first organized by candy manufacturers to promote the health benefits of eating candy and chocolate everyday! And why not? Today, Sweetest Day is a great way to brighten any a gloomy October day.

The unofficial holiday is observed most widely in the Northeast and US Great Lakes region (especially Ohio), although celebrations have continued to grow nationwide as families move to different areas and bring the tradition with them.

Setting aside a day in early autumn to family and loved ones, romantic gift exchanges are the most typical way to celebrate Sweetest Day. Families and individuals may also "sweeten the pot" with their own special traditions with gifts of flowers, fruit bouquets, poems & e-cards:

How to Celebrate Sweetest Day

• Send boxes of candy, flowers or other sweet sentiments to parents, grandparents, spouses, sweethearts, or to reward neighborhood service workers like mail carriers or newspaper deliverers.
  
  
• Add a personal touch by baking up a batch of chocolate or cookies as a thoughtful homemade gift, or create a scrapbook of photos to give to your loved one as a Sweetest Day keepsake.
  
  
• Combine the observance with an autumn family outing with the kids for a fall foliage tour with stops for fresh apple cider and a slice of pumpkin pie.
  
  
• Spend the day whispering sweet nothings to your special love, or book a bed & breakfast to extend the celebration with a romantic Sweetest Day weekend getaway.
  
  

More about Sweetest Day around the Web:

Sweetest Day E-Cards

Sweetest Day Poems

Quotations for Sweetest Day

Origins and Facts About Sweetest Day