Observed by Commercial entities | Type National | |
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"Hallmark holiday" is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe a holiday that is perceived to exist primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a traditionally or historically significant event. The name comes from Hallmark Cards, a privately owned American company, that benefits from such manufactured events through sales of greeting cards and other items. Holidays that have been referred to as "Hallmark holidays" include Grandparents Day, Sweetest Day, Boss's Day, and Secretary's Day. Some people also consider St. Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day to be such days.
The Hallmark corporation says they "can't take credit for creating holidays."
In popular culture
In The Simpsons Season 9 episode "Trash of the Titans", Costington's Department store creates a new August holiday called "Love Day." As Lisa puts it, this is intended to boost sales. Costington's sales chart (as shown in the episode) depict a dip from July to September.
Michigan singer-songwriter Jeremy Porter wrote the song "Hallmark Holiday" in 2005. The song was originally performed by his band The OffRamps and first appeared in recorded form on their 2006 album Hate It When You're Right. Porter re-recorded a stripped-down version of the song for his debut solo album Party of One in 2010 and continued to play it in his solo-acoustic sets and then with his band Jeremy Porter & The Tucos until 2014. The Party of One version was featured in an episode of the PBS television series Roadtrip Nation and was also included on the official soundtrack CD for the 2011 season.