Sleepytime Tea Bear

About

Sleepytime Tea Bear or the Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea Bear refers to a bear wearing a nightcap and gown sleeping on a comfy green chair that appears on the Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea box. The bear was originally commissioned by Celestial Seasonings in 1973 and designed by artist Beth Haye. It started to see increasing use in memes as an exploitable around 2018, becoming notably popularized in the early 2020s, often in memes about being tired.

Origin

According to the now-deleted Celestial Seasonings "Learn About Us"^[1] page, the Sleepytime Bear artwork was commissioned by Beth Haye in 1973 (shown below). It has been used on the Sleepytime Tea packaging since. The bear became the company's most iconic brand design.

On December 21st, 2020, Pop Icon^[2] published an article about the history of the bear where they speak with Tim Collins, the General Manager and VP of Marketing at Celestial Seasonings, about the bear. In the piece, they explain that the inspiration for the bear "can be traced back to the original influences of Disney and the idea of a realistic fantasy." They also explain that Beth Haye is the sister of one of the Celestial Seasonings' co-founders. When asked how he would describe the bear, the rep said:

The Sleepytime Bear is a timeless symbol of peace, calm, nostalgia, and even a little self-care. I think people are pleased to know the bear has a wife and family, and a cozy cottage where they live with a cat curled up by the fire! It’s a warm scene that our customers continue to be drawn to, and what a beautiful image to couple with unparalleled flavor.

He’s been a bringer of cheer and wellbeing for years, encouraging participants at our annual charity events, and naturally he’s a beloved part of our holiday parties.

One of the earliest known mentions of the Sleepytime Tea Bear online was by Twitter^[3] user @TheSenator on January 9th, 2008, writing, "Making Sleepytime Tea. I'll be a snoozing bear wearing a nightcap in no time!" On April 17th, 2018, Instagram^[4] user moneygames posted a not all men meme using the image of the bear, garnering over 11,200 likes in four years (shown below).

Spread

The image of the bear being used in memes continued to spread in the following years, particularly the early 2020s. For example, on November 30th, 2020, Instagram^[5] user mytherapistsays posted a meme using the image caption, "Me every day at 5:37pm," garnering over 208,000 views in two years (shown below).

On October 5th, 2021, Twitter^[6] user @jordansamuel posted, "Stop glamorizing the grind, start glamorizing the Sleepytime Tea bear," over an image of the bear (shown below, left). He posted the meme to Instagram^[7] the next day, garnering over 3,800 likes in a year. On October 10th, 2022, Instagram^[8] user @throwingfits posted a steal his look meme using the bear, garnering over 11,700 likes in a month (shown below, right). On October 12th, @jordansamuel's meme was posted by Instagram^[9] user iamthirtyaf, garnering over 100,000 likes in a month.

On October 17th, Instagram^[10] user chairjesus posted a fake RapTV post claiming the bear was shot dead in Houston, garnering over 47,000 likes in three weeks (shown below, left). On October 29th, Twitter^[11] user @holy_schnitt posted a text meme about the bear, garnering over 176,000 likes and 8,800 retweets in a week (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References