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Saturday in the month of October has its origin in Cleveland in 1922,
during the Great Depression. At present the holiday is primarily celebrated in the Midwestern U.S. states of Michigan,
Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio.About 60 years ago, Herbert Birch
Kingston, a Cleveland man and a candy store
employee felt that the city's orphans and shut-ins were often being
overlooked and neglected. To instill in them a sense of being cared
for, he distributed small gifts and candy to those who had fallen on hard times, with the help of his friends and neighbors, on a
Saturday in October. Other Clevelanders soon followed suit,
and the celebration came to be known as the "Sweetest Day".
On the
first Sweetest Day, movie star Ann Pennington presented 2,200 Cleveland
newspaper boys with boxes of candy to express gratitude for the service they
render to the public.Theda Bera, another popular movie star
distributed 10,000 boxes of candy to the people in Cleveland hospitals
and also offered candy to all those who came to watch her film in a
local theater.
Primarily a regional observance,
Sweetest Day is gaining popularity and spreading to the other areas of
the country. This tradition now seems to largely involve giving small
presents, such as cards, candy and flowers,
to family, friends, and lovers. It gives us an opportunity to reach out
to the not- so-well-off sections of the society and spread happiness in
their lives.
Sweetest Day does not pertain to any particular religion,
but is based on the broader and all-encompassing principle of humanity.
***
I Will Be Here
by Steven Curtis Chapman
If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.
If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
I will be here.
I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we'll be together,
And I will be here.
If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear,
I will be here.
As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here.
