Oh, Popcorn! Delicious and delightful, popcorn is part of so many traditions. Popcorn balls at Halloween, popcorn strings at Christmas, and delicious buttery popcorn all year round at the movies!

Corn has played an important role in the diets of many cultures, and has spread to be a worldwide phenomenon since it was imported from the new world. So on National Popcorn Day make sure you have yourself a great big bowl of this delicious treat!

History of National Popcorn Day

To discuss the history of Popcorn day, one must understand the history of Popcorn. The original corn was derived from a small grass with kernels not much different than that of wheat. Careful selection and generations of breeding has resulted in what we think of today as the corn plant. When settlers came to the New World from the Old Country, they discovered this amazing crop and that it had been in use for quite some time.

Sometime along the line (possibly even thousands of years ago!), it was realized that certain corn kernels, when subjected to heat, will pop and reveal their soft fluffy endosperm in a cloud around their shell. Before long it was discovered to be a light and delicious treat, and cultivation led to the popcorn we have today.

There are actually two types of popcorn, but the familiar yellow popcorn we all see in movie theaters is by far the most popular. Popcorn has been used for everything from arts and crafts to the foundation of some of the most popular treats around. You can find it just about anywhere you go. The National Popcorn Board decided that this fluffy treat needed a day of celebration and recognition of its own, and thus was born Popcorn day!