On October 16th my wife, Valerie, and I will be celebrating our sixteenth wedding anniversary. Yes, sixteen years ago we were married on Sweetest Day. When we chose that day, we didn’t realize that we were actually picking what many consider a greeting card company’s answer to Valentine’s Day.

Truth be known, Sweetest Day dates back to 1922 when Herbert Kingston wanted to bring a little cheer to people in his community who may feel “forgotten” during the holidays. Kingston worked for a candy company in Cleveland, Ohio and he decided to give candy to orphans, elderly, and homebound people in the area. The company liked his idea so much that they continued his tradition and distributed over 10,000 boxes of candy to over 26 Cleveland area charities in the following year. They called it “The Sweetest Day of the Year.”

Today, Sweetest Day is more romance-focused and does seem much more like Valentine’s Day with candle light dinners, greeting cards, chocolates, and flowers. But what if we went back to Kingston’s original intent? What would Sweetest Day look like in your family if you decided to bring a little cheer to people in your community who may feel “forgotten” at times?

I asked this question of my wife and two boys. After much discussion we decided to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary and Sweetest Day by spending an afternoon at a local nursing home playing some of our family’s favorite board games with the residents. Afterwards, the four of us are having dinner at a fancy restaurant where Valerie and I will tell the story of our wedding day, why we chose each other, and what we plan to do as a family in the future.

I hope you take the opportunity to celebrate Sweetest Day with the ones you love keeping Herbert Kingston’s original intent in mind.

Happy Sweetest Day!

Thomas Haller