While strolling through the aisles of a supermarket, with a gaze lingering onto every colourfully packed, beautifully shaped, temptingly named chocolates, most of us won’t make the effort to trace down the story behind the production of these. People connect with chocolates in different ways. For kids, it’s their favourite thing to munch on and also an ideal perk for them. For some, chocolates just brighten up their mood while some people don’t have a particular reason for their love towards chocolate. They, just have it. Contrary to this, some have a dislike towards chocolates and it is not accompanied by any satisfactory reason. For this group of people, celebrating a day exclusively for chocolates might seem odd. Yes, a day for chocolates- World Chocolate Day.
World Chocolate Day is celebrated on July 7 around the globe, upholding the presumptions of a group of people who say that chocolate was introduced in Europe on July 7 in the year 1550. On this day, chocolates are not to be resisted, instead listen to your inner voice which might say “Chuck away your diet and just take a bite of this luscious chocolate bar”. World Chocolate Day was celebrated for the first time in the year 2009. In Europe, chocolates were first introduced in Spain. There are different narratives which state about the introduction of this sweet and smooth delicacy to Spain. The two most well-known and widely spread stories among them are about Christopher Columbus, and Herna’n Corte’s. Columbus, brought back with him, to Spain, cacao beans in 1502, after coming across a trade ship, during his fourth voyage, which was to America. Herna’n Corte’s, is presumably the first European to have encountered chocolate when he came across it in the court of Montezuma, in the year 1519. Initially chocolates were consumed in the form of a drink, which mostly tasted bitter or spicy. When consumed as a drink, sugar wasn’t used in this liquid refreshment. The invention of Cocoa press created a revolution in the history of chocolate. In 1828, Coenraad Johannes van Houten invented the Cocoa press, which could separate the cocoa butter, which was the fat content, from roasted cocoa beans and would leave behind cocoa powder, which is the fundamental component of all chocolate products. This invention paved way to the production of solid chocolate bars. The first solid chocolate bar, produced by ‘J. S. Fry and Sons’ was a curation of cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar. Eventually, the cacao drink became much sought-after and was imported to other European countries.
The question of how World Chocolate Day is celebrated, doesn’t have ‘assorted’ answers to it. Munching your favourite chocolates, gifting someone their most-loved chocolate, trying out desserts which have chocolate in them, whisking up a new chocolatey treat etc are the most common ways to celebrate World Chocolate Day. These are the ways to indulge yourself in chocolatey treats and celebrate the day. Apart from these, there are a bunch of creative ideas to light up the faces of chocolate lovers, especially tiny-tots. On this day, for a change, don’t crumble away those colourful chocolate wrappers, instead showcase your artistic side by cutting out alphabets and using them to make cards which merrily read out “Happy Chocolate Day”. In schools, some possible ways to celebrate are- dress up students in chocolatey hues and make them speak about their favourite chocolate, perform skits to narrate the history of chocolate, arrange games that involve chocolates in them- like finding out a particular chocolate from a box of chocolates, organise contests for students to write a poem or short story about chocolates. However, gifting chocolates to your dear ones is undoubtedly the best way to make them smile. For a chocolate shop owner, this day fills his pocket.
This day is embraced with love by sweet tooths and an excuse for kids to go all gaga, without having to constantly irritate their parents about the same. Even in children’s literature and movies, chocolates have always found a special place similar to how they have found a place in children’s hearts. Willy Wonka, the most famous character associated with chocolate, to many kids, is a magician without a wand but with a chocolate bar in hand; yet the more magical and sweeter than normal magicians. We are unsure if chocolate’s journey from something obscure to becoming a not though unanimously, but majorly loved treat was as sweet as the common fondness towards it or bitter like some people’s preference for it. Chocolate is not just a wrapped snack but is a recipient of many untold, unexpressed emotions.
By Shreya Susan Zacharia, KOCHI
