Instagram Message: There's a Sweetest Day challenge waiting for u on the blog. Who are your sweeties? These are mine.
This Saturday is a very busy day according to the Nationaldaycalendar.com website. It will already be a big day for me because I will be hosting a baby shower for a wonderful couple who are expecting twins. But are ready for this? It’s also National Aesthetician’s Day, National Cheese Curds Day, National “I Love Lucy” Day, National Cake Decorating Day, National Grouch Day, National Latino Aids Awareness Day, National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day, National White Cane Safety Day and National Sweetest Day. A few silly national days mixed in with some very somber ones too - all falling on Saturday, October 15, 2016.
National Sweetest Day is primarily celebrated in the Midwest and Northeast but I don’t see anything wrong with spreading the tradition throughout the country, do you? It falls on the third Saturday of October and everyone - people of all ages - can celebrate. Some may think Sweetest Day is for females to show their sweethearts that they are loved. However, nationaldaycalendar.com gives a different version of the meaning of it with a historical view on how the day was created. In 1921 a philanthropist/candy-maker named Herbert Birch Kingston created a committee and the “Sweetest Day of the Year” which was celebrated on October 8th in Cleveland, Ohio. He created Sweetest Day so that we could give something or do something nice for those less fortunate than ourselves. According to nationaldaycalendar.com , “Kingston and his committee distributed over 20,000 boxes of candy and small gifts to “newsboys, orphans, old folks and the poor” in Cleveland, Ohio.”
To celebrate Sweetest Day, you can give small presents, a.k.a thoughtful pinches, to show others that you are thinking about, caring for and/or loving them. It could be a card, an email/text, candy, flowers etc. Be sure to use #NationalSweetestDay when you post on social media. Can you take this day a step further? I would like to challenge you to give small presents, cards, candy or flowers to someone you don’t know. A total stranger. Someone who could use some sweetness in their lives. As mentioned, in Cleveland, Ohio, they gave the chocolates to orphans, elders and the poor. I am guessing the newsboys didn’t make much money schlepping the newspapers from house to house or by standing in the streets selling newspapers so I imagine a box of candy was probably a luxury item for them. So to honor Kingston’s wishes, give something or do something sweet for someone who may have less than you. Nowadays, the people who beg for money at the freeway off-ramps have gotten bolder and more direct with their cardboard signs. “This old vet needs some beer money” or “Mom of two needs some weed. Anything helps.” Perhaps their honesty is refreshing to those who know where the money will go or maybe it’s shocking to others. But since Halloween candy is on sale right now purchase some to put a little sugar in their donation cups if you’re not into supporting the alcohol/drug addiction. Or you could swing by a home for elders and drop off some thoughtful notes or some artwork from your kids. My plan is to take the kids with me to drop off flowers and some candy for the families and caregivers at the hospice center where my friend, Mandy Bauman, spent her last days.
Spoiler alert: the message inside is extremely innocent. It says, "Happy". My $1 purchase at The Dollar Tree. Mixing up the Sweetest Day tradition with a cards for the hub and kids then dropping off sweet treats to the hospice center.
I chose National Sweetest Day out of all the national days celebrated during this week because it aligns perfectly with my vision for Thoughtful Pinch. Sweetest Day is not about huge gestures or expensive gifts. It’s not a mini or less popular version of Valentine’s Day. It’s a day about giving little pinches of sweetness to those who may need it. Herbert Birch Kingston has inspired me. I want to form a committee and create a national day. I want thoughtfulness to thrive and never disappear. National Thoughtful Pinch Day. Yeah, it has a nice ring to it.
Pinches,
Barb