National Eat A Cranberry Day (November 23rd)

The Indians and English use them much, boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat, and it is a delicious sauce.

John Josselyn, Visiting New England in 1663

It just goes to show that the History of this tart red berry with its delicious flavor and the odd name has been around since before America was America. Aside from being delicious, there have been discoveries stating that cranberries are incredibly Healthy for you, being packed with anti-oxidants and rich nutrients. National Eat A Cranberry Day encourages you to follow a long-standing tradition and enjoy cranberries throughout the year, not just with a seasonal meal.

History of National Eat A Cranberry Day

Let us first address the unusual name that is “Cranberry”, what precisely is a cran anyway? Well, it turns out the name for Cranberry was originally craneberry, derived from the German “kraanbere”. Why would a berry be named after a bird? Well, if you guessed it was because the berries were a favorite food of the bird known as the crane? You’d be wrong, but you would be on the right track. The craneberry got its name due to the English believing that the flowers and stem resembled the neck of that self-same bird.

Once settlement of the Americas began the cranberry became a very popular crop, seeing export to Europe and an embrace as a traditional food for the Thanksgiving Holiday by the colonists. Today cranberry sauce is enjoyed all over the world, but nowhere near as much as it is in the USA, where it is considered an important part of every Turkey based holiday, whether that be Thanksgiving or Christmas. While most people are familiar with the traditional deep red of cranberries, white cranberries are also popular for their lighter flavor and are the result of harvesting them early before their color deepens.

How to celebrate National Eat A Cranberry Day

Seriously? It’s right there in the title of the day. You celebrate National Eat A Cranberry Day by eating a cranberry! Or drinking it, no one will fault you for preferring the tart flavor of cranberry in beverage form over its natural solid form. Cranberry juice happens to mix delightfully with some of the more traditionally sweet fruits, providing countless health benefits and a tartness that is the perfect compliment to the sweetness of fruits like pear, grape, and apple. So why not pick up a glass, or a fork, and enjoy a cranberry for National Eat A Cranberry Day?