World Chocolate Day history, significance, and practices; find all details

World Chocolate Day is also called as International Chocolate Day and is celebrated on July 7 annually. The day marks the global observance of celebrating the introduction of chocolate to the native Europeans. Chocolate is a form of a delicacy enjoyed by millions across the globe. According to reports, chocolate was once considered a divine good by the Mayans and the Aztecs. However, now it is a part of our daily life. Similarly, chocolate day is to appreciate the production of the delicacy which first started around this time in Europe. Read more about the importance of chocolate in history-

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World Chocolate Day history

In a book named The True History of Chocolate penned by Sophie and Michael Coe, it is cited that the earliest possible evidence of humans eating chocolate dates back to three to four millennia. During the pre-Columbian era, there are traces of Mesoamerica such as Olmec producing chocolate.

According to reports, in November 2007, anthropologists from the University of Pennsylvania earthenware discovered a pulp extract of cacao beans that dates back to 1400 B.C.E. The pulp extract was combined with an alcoholic beverage to form a paste, which is evidence of chocolate consumption, as per the University of Pennsylvania.

According to reports, it is not exactly known when, but it is clear from the history books that chocolate was consumed much before the term ‘Chocolate’ was coined. However, approximately 450 years ago, Europeans popularised the consumption of the sometimes sweet, sometimes bitter delicacy. The coining of the day was done this time that year, which is why World Chocolate Day is celebrated worldwide. 

According to a report in the Smithsonian, pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were valued as money or currency. It was traded for food, for tamale, and more as per a 16th-century document in the Aztec. Even though chocolates have received the ‘patisserie and desert’ connection in modern history, the usage can be traced back to centuries and millennia as per reports.

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By the year 1868, a small-time company which is now a chocolate giant was seen producing a non-bitter, sweeter version of the delicacy. Followed by another pioneer Nestle. The consumption was normalised from a divine, medical help to a common day, bite-sized food item. In the USA, The Revolutionary War catapulted the food item into a daily munching item, as it was popular with the armed forces. It was later introduced to the common man. Today, chocolate is a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide.

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