Animal Crackers. Libby / flickr / 2011 / CC BY 2.0
The 18th of April is Animal Crackers Day.
It’s a day to celebrate the small, slightly-sweetened crackers baked in the shapes of animals.
Some say, it’s the day of the year that turns vegetarians into carnivores as they snack down on Animal Crackers.
If you’re in England, you may know Animal Crackers as “Animal Biscuits.”
“Animal Crackers” or “Animal Biscuits” is a generic name; there are many different brands.
Different brands will have different animals in their “stables”. Some brands phase different animals in and out over the years.
“Animal Crackers Day Care” is a popular, ubiquitous name for a day care centre for children.
To celebrate today, you could bring some Animal Crackers to the office today to share with co-workers, or, enjoy some at home in the evening, maybe while watching a circus movie on TV!
#AnimalCrackersDay #NationalAnimalCrackersDay
History
The first print mention of an “Animal Crackers Day” in April dates from 2007 in Kentucky:
“Today is: National Animal Crackers Day.” — Louisville, Kentucky: The Courier-Journal. Wednesday, 18 April 2007. Page F1, col. 3.
Shirley Temple sang about Animal Crackers in the film, “Curleytop”: “Animal crackers in my soup, Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop, Gosh, oh, gee, but I have fun!”
Sources
Animal crackers turn 109 years old. NBC News. 18 April 2011. Accessed November 2018 at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/animal-crackers-turn-109-years-old-v6489345
Michael. It’s National Animal Crackers Day! University of Illinois Press Glob. 18 April 2012. Accessed March 2021 at http://www.press.uillinois.edu/wordpress/its-national-animal-crackers-day/
National animal crackers day. 5 News CBS. Springdale, Arizona. 18 April 2012. Accessed March 2021 at https://5newsonline.com/2012/04/18/national-animal-crackers-day/
Sabo Millner, Hadassah. National Animal Crackers Day. Joy of Kosher. 18 April 2012. Accessed March 2021 at https://www.joyofkosher.com/holidays/national-animal-crackers-day/