Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Drollerie Blog Tour: Catherine Schaff-Stump on Sweetest Day
It's the Drollerie Blog Tour for October, on the theme of Sweetest Day!
My guest for today is Catherine Schaff-Stump. While Catherine takes over my blog, I'll be over at Fraser Sherman's. When you've read Catherine's post, carry on to Heather Ingemar's blog for the next stop on the Drollerie Blog Tour.
Sweetest Day
At first, when I heard of Sweetest Day, my thoughts were (cue movie announcer voice here) Valentine’s Day 2! I was prepared to write about why my husband is so special in my life. He certainly is special, but a little research has taught me more about Sweetest Day. This is a case where fact is more interesting than fiction.
Sweetest Day originated in that most romantic of cities, Cleveland, Ohio. Candy mogul Herbert Birch Kingston gave away candy and small gifts to the underprivileged in a philanthropic gesture. Maybe it would have been nicer to give apples or healthy food to the poor, but a candy manufacturer’s got to go with his instincts.
This is striking. What once started as a gesture to give to people who were in need has turned into a holiday to celebrate affection in our lives. In the United States, it really is all about me, sometimes. It’s important to celebrate love and affection, but I’d love to see the holiday carry on with its original focus—doing something nice for others.
Do you remember May Day? No, socialist buddies, not THAT May Day, but the one where anonymous well wishers left you baskets of flowers and sweets on your front doorstep to wish you a happy spring? What about those Christmas occasions when the giving isn’t just about your family? Or those times we dig deep to donate to charity?
There’s a certain something to a holiday organized around charity. If the confectioners of yesteryear were more commercial than altruistic, they certainly are living up to capitalist expectation. Yet, I can imagine for some very poor individuals back then, Sweetest Day candy was a rare and welcome treat.
Now that I know the rest of the story, what will I do for Sweetest Day this year? It’s too late for me to do anything this Friday afternoon, but maybe my students would appreciate a little something during their hard endeavors next week.
Like Mr. Kingston, I probably won’t give them celery.Labels: drollerie press
1 comments. Please post yours!
I love this post, Catherine. Due to craziness of my impending wedding, I haven't had time to look up "Swetest Day," but what I've seen of it here from you guys who did tells me all I need to know: it's the perfect holiday for me!
I realized that sometimes I do just what is advocated by the holiday, and sometimes I'm too lazy. I'd rather it be more often! I'm someone who likes being Hostess -- literally. My huband-to-be and I are planning a little after-party for the wedding; the pagans of drollerie press and others can probably appreciate that we're going to give out candy at it as "a blessing from Aengus Mac Og." (we were going to do it at the restaurant, but we can't bring in food, and this is how we're going to bless our home together anyyway).
...I'm intending to celebrate Sweetest Day next year, but this year in a way we're celebrating it just a week late!
Thanks, Aengus:)
And thank you, Imogen, for hosting this!
Jess
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