Sweetest Day in the USA Date in the current year: October 19, 2024

The inaugural Sweetest Day was held on October 10, 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a charity event organized by a committee comprising 12 confectioners. The committee distributed over 20,000 boxes of candy to local orphans, newsboys, old people, and the poor. Famous movie stars, such as Ann Pennington and Theda Bara, helped to distribute the boxes.

There were several attempts to organize Sweetest Day in New York City in the following decades, but the next large promotional event took place on October 19, 1940. The Sweetest Day Committee distributed more than 10,000 boxes of candy among 26 local charities, including the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and local religious groups.

What started as a charity event has since transformed into a celebration designed promote the candy industry and increase the sales of sweets. It is celebrated in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and parts of New York and Pennsylvania.

Sweetest Day is mostly associated with giving candy to loved ones. About 80% of Hallmark’s greeting cards designed for the holiday are romantic, and heart-shaped candy boxes are especially popular.