When is Sweetest Day in 2023? How is it different than Valentine's Day? What to know ❤️🌹

Emily DeLetter and Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer
·3 min read

Why wait until Valentine's Day to celebrate your loved ones?

Sweetest Day, an annual holiday with Midwestern roots about celebrating all who are special to you through acts of service or gift-giving, is Saturday.

Ready to show some love this Sweetest Day? Here's what to know about the upcoming holiday.

When is Sweetest Day 2023?

Sweetest Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in October, touted as a way to share romantic deeds, expressions, acts of charity and kindness.

This year, it's on Oct. 21.

How did Sweetest Day begin?

According to National Today, Sweetest Day was first celebrated in Cleveland in 1922, when multiple candy companies distributed more than 20,000 boxes of candy to the city's vulnerable, including "newsboys, orphans, old folks and the poor."

Eventually, the idea spread from Cleveland to the rest of Ohio and a few other states.

Hallmark also attributes Sweetest Day's start to Herbert Birch Kingston, a Cleveland candy company employee "who wanted to bring happiness to the lives of those who often were forgotten."

"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.

In 1937, the National Confectioners Association launched a movement to rank Sweetest Day with other nationally accepted holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day, but the effort fell flat.

Is Sweetest Day a real holiday?

No, the day is not federally recognized, but it is observed by people in states and regions around the U.S.

Do all states celebrate Sweetest Day?

In the U.S., Sweetest Day is mainly celebrated in the Midwest, parts of the Northeast and Florida. It's most popular around Cleveland and Detroit.

Is Sweetest Day just for men?

The holiday is not aimed specifically toward any gender, as it was started to give chocolate and sweets to the vulnerable in the city.

Now, it's seen as a chance to express love or admiration for the people in your life, whether it's family, friends, romantic partners or others.

But, in the Midwest, where the holiday was popularized, Sweetest Day has become synonymous with Boyfriend Day, according to National Today. In the region, Sweetest Day is celebrated primarily by women who treat the men in their lives with "gifts of candy and other sweet gestures."

What's the difference between Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day?

Sweetest Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of October, and those who participate can express love or appreciation toward anyone. Valentine's Day is Feb. 14 and is typically seen as more of a celebration of romantic love.

Gift ideas for Sweetest Day

Sometimes a card is all you need to give.
Sometimes a card is all you need to give.

Like Valentine's Day, you can give loved ones in your life chocolates, candies or cards, but the holiday has an added emphasis on helping others in need, either with material gifts or through moral support.

And thanks to marketing from candy manufacturers, it's also common to give candy or chocolates to celebrate Sweetest Day.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: When is Sweetest Day in 2023? What to know about the Ohio holiday