World Chocolate Day: a new tradition of fun

World Chocolate Day is a relatively new holiday. Since 1995, with the light hand of the French, this sweet product began to be celebrated all over the world on July 11. But in fact it is a very ancient drink - just so, and bitter and cold. "Chokoatl" is translated from the Olmec language: "bitter water". When Columbus first set foot on the mainland called America, the local tribes presented him with a respectful cup full of liquid made from cocoa beans, water, chili pepper and cloves. The seafarer refused the gift. But Cortes and his conquistadors, conquering Mexico in 1519, liked the drink. True, they consumed it as a kind of dope. It was believed that bitter water strengthens strength. Europeans first thought of softening bitterness with cane sugar.

For a long time, chocolate - already sweet, but liquid - was the know-how of the Spaniards, who carefully guarded the secret of its preparation. But in 1615 the fashion for him went at the court of Anna Austria, and then in all the "best houses" of Europe.

A more familiar hard form of sweetness was already in the XIX century, when the Dutchman Houten invented a press for extracting butter from cocoa beans. For the first time tiles began to be produced at the British factory "Fry and Sons", the Belgians came up with a praline, and the Germans opened a museum of this delicious and nutritious product. Festivals of chocolate began to take place in different cities (in Lviv, for example), and in the Russian Pokrov there is a monument to this sweetness. As you can see, the World Chocolate Day was simply asking for our calendar.

How can you celebrate this great date? So far, clearly established rituals, mankind has not come up with. But the World Chocolate Day provides an opportunity to show their own imagination. You can just buy a box of chocolates, or you can try to make them yourself. You can visit the demonstration hall with a tour at some confectionery factory. In Lviv, for example, there are a lot of cafe-confectioneries under the general name "Chink", where the whole process of cooking can be seen from the storefront.

Where else can you go to celebrate this World Day? The child can be taken to the oldest chocolate museum in Cologne, where he learns how to make this product. The tour starts in the greenhouse, where tropical plants are used, and ends in a shop where you can buy tiles and sweets or get drunk from a huge chocolate fountain. And you can celebrate the date in Belgium, rightfully considered the kingdom of this famous dessert.

World Chocolate Day, as Rule, raises controversy about the benefits and dangers of this product. It is said that this is a drug, as it causes the production of endorphins that affect the pleasure centers in the brain and are addictive. And the supporters of the sweet product assure that it has anti-cancer effect, tones up, anesthetizes, strengthens the heart muscle. Recently, sweetness is used in cosmetology: for masks, baths and wraps.

By the way, one more idea of celebration of World Chocolate Day: you can do your appearance and apply this sweet product for cosmetic purposes. And at the same time watch a movie about the theme of "black gold": "Chocolate" or "Charlie and the chocolate factory." To then look forward to another significant date - September 13, when the International Chocolate Day is celebrated.