美国甜蜜日--Sweetest Day

Sweetest Day is always the third Saturday in October. This holiday is much more important in some regions than in others (Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo¹ being the biggest Sweetest Day cities). It is a holiday that is gaining in popularity every year throughout the country.

Sweetest Day is celebrated² on the third Saturday in October as a day to make someone happy. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged³, and orphaned⁴, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.

Over 60 years ago, a Cleveland (克利夫兰--美国城市) man, believing that the city"s orphans⁵ and shut-ins (卧病在床的人) too often felt forgotten and neglected, conceived the idea of showing them that they were remembered. He did this through the distribution of small gifts. With the help of his friends and neighbors, he distributed these small remembrances on a Saturday in October. During the years that followed, other Clevelanders began to participate in the celebration ceremony, which came to be called "Sweetest Day". In time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged was broadened to include everyone, and became an occasion for remembering others with a kind act or a small remembrance. And soon the idea spread to other cities all over the country.

Sweetest Day is not based on any single group"s religious sentiment (感情) or on a family relationship. It is a reminder⁶ that a thoughtful word or deed enriches life and gives it meaning.

Because for many people remembering takes the form of gift-giving, Sweetest Day offers us the opportunity to show others that we care, in a tangible⁷ (切实的) way.