- 9 February
- Day three of Valentine week
- Cacao used for thousands of years
Where it began
Chocolate comes from the seeds of the cacao tree. People in Mexico and Central America used cacao in drinks for thousands of years. The Maya and the Aztecs prized it highly, and the Aztecs even used the beans like money.
Cacao reached Spain in the 1500s and spread across Europe as a sweet drink. Solid chocolate bars came much later, in the 1800s.
In the 1860s Richard Cadbury in England sold chocolates in heart-shaped boxes for Valentine's Day, starting a long link between chocolate and love. It is part of Valentine week, the seven days from 7 February to 14 February that young people in India and nearby lands keep, one theme a day.
How it grew over time
Ancient times
People in Mexico and Central America make drinks from cacao.
1500s
Cacao arrives in Spain and then spreads across Europe.
1800s
The first solid chocolate bars are made, and heart-shaped boxes appear for Valentine's Day.
Recent decades
Chocolate Day joins Valentine week in South Asia.
How it is celebrated in different places
India
Shops sell gift boxes, and friends swap chocolates at school and work.
Japan
On Valentine's Day women often give chocolate, and a month later on White Day men return the gift.
Mexico
Hot chocolate is still loved, often with cinnamon, as it was long ago.
Chocolate Day moments
Chocolate Day today
Today a bar of chocolate or a small homemade sweet is a warm way to say you care, for a partner, a parent or a friend.
