Days Until World Chocolate Day

About World Chocolate Day

July 7 is popularly cited as marking the anniversary of chocolate's introduction to Europe, though the exact historical basis for that specific date is genuinely thin — unlike several of the UN-designated days on this list, this is a commercially and informally popularized observance rather than one backed by a documented founding resolution.

It coexists with several other, differently-dated "chocolate day" observances recognized in different countries, reflecting its grassroots rather than centrally coordinated origin.

Cocoa, the raw ingredient chocolate is made from, was first cultivated and consumed by Mesoamerican civilizations including the Maya and Aztec more than 2,500 years ago, long before its much later introduction to Europe.

Chocolate production today depends heavily on cacao farming in West Africa, particularly Ivory Coast and Ghana, which together supply a large majority of the world's cocoa beans, a supply chain increasingly scrutinized for labor and environmental practices.