Here's When Pocky Day Is Celebrated Each Year
Snapping a crisp Pocky stick covered in your favorite creamy flavor is one of life's simple pleasures. Japan's favorite snack biscuit has become so popular over the years that you can now find it just about anywhere that has a snack aisle. Beloved not only by Japan, Pocky has become a huge hit in the U.S. among anime fans, lovers of Japanese culture, and foodies who enjoy a side of fun with their snacks. Boxes of the light and sweet treat first hit the shelves in 1966 in all its hand-dipped, chocolaty perfection (per Pocky). The company that created it, Gilco, has since released various other tempting flavors like cookies and cream, strawberry, matcha, almond, and several unique flavors that you can try depending on availability in your country. With so many tasty options, every sweet tooth out there has something to love.
If only there were some way to celebrate Pocky's timeless deliciousness, easy portability, and genius no-mess handle for an entire day? You'll want to mark your calendars, because there is a real holiday that you can observe with your taste buds each and every year. Get your scooping hand ready to push all the Pocky boxes within your reach into your shopping cart.
What day of the year is Pocky Day?
Pocky Day falls on November 11 (11/11) each year, where you can munch on the candy-coated sticks to your heart's content or play the Pocky game with friends in celebration (per Zenpop). The seemingly abstract date was actually chosen by Gilco simply because the number one is shaped like Pocky. What's more, the history of Pocky Day has quite the origin story. The holiday actually began as a way to spite a rival company that had stolen Gilco's original concept.
South Korean company, Lotte, launched a copycat version of the popular snack in 1983 and called it Pepero. The company began promoting it in Korea on November 11, so naturally, Gilco wanted to one-up them and created Pocky Day in 1999. "If 1999 seems like a random year to start a holiday, it's not. 1999 is the 11th year of Heisei in the Japanese calendar. Thus November 11, 1999 in Japan was 11-11-11" (via Tofugu).
A box of Pocky is perfect for getting you through your next anime binge, a dipped stick in one hand and a bubbly ramune marble soda in the other. There are even snack subscription boxes out there you can sign up for that will send you lots of hard-to-find flavors of Pocky and other Japanese snacks (via Japan Crate). How will you be sharing happiness on the next Pocky Day?