“Chocolate is the answer, who cares what the question is.” That’s usually what comes to mind, after pumpkins, when someone asks me about Halloween. Tomorrow, October 28th, is National Chocolate Day, one of the most glorious days of the year. This is actually new info for me, did you know about it? Let’s indulge ourselves in what this wonderful day has to offer.
Of course, chocolate all begins with the cacao seeds found in cacao pods. It’s still bizarre to me that this sweet treat starts from this tree grown primarily in Western Africa. The process from start to chocolate bar has several steps, but what you’re left with is a creation that the world loves, especially around Halloween season.
Pixabay / AlexanderStein
Before we go any further, I have to say this, chocolate is superior to any candy you can get for Halloween. No hate to candy here, but what I was looking for when I used to go trick-or-treating was chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Hint hint, I was a big fan of Easter during my childhood.
So, like any other unconventional “national day” what are you actually “supposed” to do to celebrate National Chocolate Day? Well, other than the obvious thing which would be to of course eat chocolate, there’s a few other things that can be discussed when it comes to chocolate.
Pixabay / congerdesign
You may (or at least I hope) learned at some point in elementary school that not all chocolate was made in an ethically adequate way. Companies such as Mars, Nestle and Hershey have received much backlash over their chocolate sourcing methods. This idea traces back to the workers who are improperly cared for as they operate the supplies chains. While these three companies have vowed to continue to take steps to solve this problem, it’s still worth having an ongoing discussion.
The other element of chocolate that gets talked about more is how “unhealthy” it is for you. Well this is may be fairly obviously, mostly because of the sugar, not all chocolate is bad for you! I’ve started to appreciate dark chocolate lately, which actually has positive health benefits! It’s full of minerals and can apparently lower the risk of heart disease even!
Tomorrow, go buy some chocolate to celebrate, you deserve it! But don’t eat too much just yet, because Halloween is only four days away! I’ll be getting some of my favourite chocolate, including Reese’s (possibly the best chocolate ever) to acknowledge this sweet day!