World Chocolate Day: God's Gift That Becomes A Currency To A Snack In History Today, 7 July 2009

Cocoa (Pablo Merchan Montes/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Not many know that every July 7 we can celebrate World Chocolate Day. This memorial is a special tribute to mankind's greatest culinary discovery.

Chocolate is known to be the most luxurious dessert. Chocolate can also be enjoyed even without having to be processed into processed dishes. Some of the most popular chocolate bars are usually plain and simple.

Quoting Days of The Year, about 2,500 years ago, the Aztecs discovered melted chocolate and they loved it immediately. They believe the chocolate was bestowed upon them by the god of wisdom, Quetzalcoatl.

At that time the chocolate still tasted bitter because there was no added sugar. Chocolate began to be a sweet dish when it arrived in 16th century Europe. Since then chocolate became popular and became one of the many favorite snacks.

Many of today's chocolate companies began operations in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Cadbury started operations in England in 1868. 25 years later Milton S. Hershey purchased chocolate processing equipment.

The tools he transported from the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. Milton developed into one of the greatest chocolate creators in the world. He started the company by producing chocolate-coated caramel.

Milton S. Hershey (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

Nestlé started chocolate processing in the 1860s and grew to become one of the world's largest food conglomerates. In 2009, World Chocolate Day began to be celebrated every July 7

It is not clear who sparked World Chocolate Day. However, July 7 was chosen because it was on this date in 1550 that chocolate was first brought to Europe.

For chocolate lovers, World Chocolate Day might be a lot of fun. How not, to commemorate this day is enough to shop for chocolate or eat chocolate.

To make it even more special, maybe exchange chocolate gifts. Chocolate flavor is sure to be a favorite because it can be used as cakes, toppings, desserts, candy, ice cream, and more.

Chocolate as money

Launching Science, a study reveals that chocolate was once used as money at the height of Mayan luxury. David Freidel, an anthropologist from outside the study, said the discovery made sense because at that time chocolate was a prestigious food.

The ancient Mayans never used coins as money. Otherwise. Like many early civilizations, they bartered or traded goods, such as tobacco, corn, and clothing.

Spanish colonial records from the 16th century show Europeans using cocoa beans—the basic ingredient for chocolate—to pay workers. But it is not clear whether cocoa was the main currency before their arrival.

Chocolate also proved to be widely accepted as payment for goods or services rather than barter. The Mayans usually consumed cocoa as a hot drink, served in cups made of clay.

Cocoa beans (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

One of the earliest depictions of chocolate as a medium of exchange is inscribed in a painting made in the mid-7th century. In the frescoes displayed on the pyramids appears a woman.

The woman was at the central market near the Guatemalan border. He was also seen offering a man a bowl of hot chocolate in exchange for the tamale dough he got.

Other findings show that chocolate is shaped like a coin, which is fermented and dried cocoa beans. Joanne Baron, an archaeologist with the Bard Early College Network, documented about 180 different scenes on ceramics and murals from about AD 691 to AD 900.

The documentation shows the commodities being sent to Maya leaders as tribute or some kind of tax. Goods, such as tobacco and corn kernels were given in honor.

However, the items that appear the most in the documentation are pieces of woven fabric and bags. The items are labeled with the number of dry cocoa beans.

The Baron believed that the Maya King used cocoa and woven cloth as taxes. The Baron believed there was a fact that the Mayan King collected cocoa and woven cloth as a tax.

"They collect far more cocoa than they consume in the palace," he said, quoted Wednesday, July 6.

*Read other information about WORLD HISTORY or read other interesting articles from Putri Ainur Islam.

TODAY'S HISTORY More