People are celebrating it in different ways on different days to express their love. October is considered the month of love as October 16 is celebrated as Sweetest Day.
It completed 100 years in 2021. It is celebrated like the Midwest.
Many people start to think of it as Valentine‘s Day but there is a lot of difference between the two which we will see in the next section.
Key Takeaways
- Sweetest Day is celebrated primarily in the Midwest and Northeast United States, while Valentine’s Day is observed globally.
- Sweetest Day focuses on showing appreciation to friends, family, and loved ones, while Valentine’s Day is centered on romantic love and affection.
- Sweetest Day occurs on the third Saturday of October, and Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th.
Sweetest Day Vs Valentine’s Day
Sweetest Day, celebrated on the third Saturday in October in certain regions of the United States, is a day to share romantic deeds or expressions and acts of charity. Valentine’s Day, globally recognized on February 14, is traditionally dedicated to expressing love and affection between intimate companions.
Sweetest Day originated in the United States of America. On October 14, 1916, when sweets were being distributed during the time of the National Confectioners’ Association, he was asked the reason for it and he called it the sweetest day of the year.
Apart from this, that day was also celebrated as Candy Day.
Valentine’s Day is very old. It started around the 14th century. Roman Catholic saint Valentine is considered to be its basis, who even after it proved illegal, married for young couples.
It was started by installing the idol for the first time. It was primarily considered a fertility festival, formerly known as Lupercalia.
Later it was celebrated as a festival of Christians.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Sweetest Day | Valentine’s Day |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sweetest Day is started by the distribution of sweets and professing your love. | Valentine’s Day is a festival of love in which we express our love by sending loving messages to our loved ones. |
| Purpose | The main purpose of celebrating Sweetest Day is to distribute sweets and show our love. | Valentine’s Day is an annual festival to express our love, which we celebrate with our family, friends, and partner. |
| Origin | Sweetest Day was first started in 1921 in Cleveland, which is in the US. | Valentine’s Day started on the day of the Christian feast which was kept in the name of Saint Valentine to honor the martyrs. |
| Terminology | Sweetest Day is also known as Candy Day. | Valentine’s Day was also known by another name like it was also called the festival of Saint Valentine. |
| Day | The sweetest day does not have a fixed date, it’s always celebrated on the 3rd Saturday of October every year. | Valentine’s day is the last day of Valentine’s week which is celebrated on 14th Feb every year. |
What is Sweetest Day?
Sweetest Day is considered a holiday. It is celebrated on the third Saturday of October.
It is mostly celebrated only in some parts of the United States of America. It is a tradition to celebrate it with romantic deeds or expressions.
It is also known by other names such as hallmark holiday or fabricated propaganda etc. It is mainly made for the good sale of sweets which are made by the candy industries.
It was celebrated for the first time in Cleveland on October 10, 1921, meaning that the day was the first Sweetest Day. In the same sequence, describing the Sweetest Day celebrated for the first time during the second Sweetest Day in 1922, it was first planned by the committee of some confectioners.
After that more than 20000 sweet boxes were distributed among the poor. Along with this, big personalities also took part in this distribution process.
In 1922, New York City was also announced to celebrate the Sweetest Day and people tried to celebrate it. It was also later released in the New York Times.
After this, gradually the news started coming in the news that the candy industry movement has been launched to get approval at the national level.
What is Valentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day is also addressed by other names, i.e. it is also celebrated as Saint Valentine’s Day. This festival is always celebrated on 14th February.
It is believed to have originated as a Christian feast. Early Christian martyrs were honored by St. Valentine. From that time onwards it was considered an important festival.
It is celebrated in many regions of the world as a cultural and religious festival of love.
The stories of martyrdom are also prevalent behind this festival celebrated on 14th February. Among those stories follows the story of Saint Valentine serving Christians persecuted by the Roman Empire.
This festival was celebrated in the old times by the name of Lupercalia, but there is no claim of it in the old times, which can connect it with the rituals of today’s time. A poem from the 14th century, Valentine’s Day, describes the celebration in which it does not find any romantic connotation.
Later the prevalence of Lupercalia decreased and it stopped.
The full description of celebrating this festival as a festival of love is first found in the Charter of the Court of Love. A related story describes a grand celebration organized by Charles VI of France in 1400 AD, in which many members of the royal court participated.
Many events were organized in this festival such as poetry competitions, erotic songs, feasts, dance, etc. In such festivals, women used to settle disputes related to love.
Thus many stories are associated with this festival.
Main Differences Between Sweetest Day and Valentine’s Day
- Sweetest Day was initially started by a candy company in the upper midwest of the USA to sell the candy and later by bribing local authorities they made it a holiday whereas Valentine’s day is honored by the catholic church on the martyr of st. Valentine.
- Sweetest Day is celebrated in October as the date of its celebration is not fixed and it is celebrated every year on the third Saturday while Valentine’s Day is celebrated on 14 February every year.
- There is a tradition to celebrate Sweetest Day with the distribution of sweets while Valentine’s Day has a tradition of expressing your love with your loved ones.
- Sweetest Day is also known as Candy Day while Valentine’s Day is known as the Feast of Saint Valentine.
- Sweetest Day was first celebrated in 1921 in Cleveland, USA, while Valentine’s Day was started by Catholic Christians in 1919.
- https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/496627
- https://muse.jhu.edu/article/270433/summary
- https://scholarworks.harding.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2360&context=thebison
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
