By Our Special Correspondent
September 13th is International Chocolate Day so get your sweet tooth ready! Whether you like your chocolate dark, milk or white, with or without nuts, few can resist its taste. No one needs to enjoy chocolate, today is the perfect day to enjoy your favorite chocolate without any guilt.
Since chocolate is so loved all over the world, there isn't just one date to celebrate it. There is International Chocolate Day on September 13, World Chocolate Day on July 7 and two National Chocolate Days on October 28 and December 28!
Although the origins of this holiday are unclear, the National Confectioners Association celebrates International Chocolate Day on September 18 because it coincides with the birthday of Milton S. Hershey, the founder of the Hershey Chocolate Company.
Chocolate comes from the bean of the Theobroma cacao tree, which grows in Central America, Mexico and northern South America. It has been cultivated for thousands of years and cacao seeds have been used and consumed since 1100 BC and played a large role in Aztec and Mayan cultures. The Aztecs ground and drank chocolate beans without sugar and believed that cacao was a gift from the gods.
Cacao beans were brought from the Americas to Europe in the 1550s, where they were mixed with milk and sugar to make the very popular drink, chocolate. In 1780 the United States built the first factory to manufacture and distribute the new chocolate drink, but it wasn't until 1842 that Cadbury in England began producing chocolate bars.
Milk chocolate was invented in Switzerland in 1875 and this inspired a young man named Milton S. Hershey to make and sell his milk chocolates. Thus, the Hershey's Chocolate Company was founded and the first Hershey's Milk Bar was produced in 1900. The famous Hershey's Kiss was invented in 1907.
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