National Graham Cracker Day Date in the current year: July 5, 2024

A graham cracker is a type of sweet cracker that was invented in the United States in the mid-19th century. It received its name due to being made with graham flour, which, in turn, was named after Sylvester Graham who advocated for a healthy vegetarian diet built around whole-grain bread made at home with coarse-ground flour.

Graham was a Presbyterian minister known for being a member of the temperance movement. He believed that God intended people to live a simple and unsophisticated life with minimal pleasure. God’s intended way of life, according to Graham, included a vegetarian diet anchored by whole-grain bread that would keep people healthy.

Graham himself did not create graham flour or graham crackers, but these products were created for his followers called Grahamites. One of the earliest mentions of graham crackers can be found in Herman Melville’s novel entitled Pierre; or, The Ambiguities that was published in 1852.

Original graham crackers were homemade. Their main ingredients were graham flour, lard, shortening or oil, molasses, and salt. The first company to mass produce graham crackers was the National Biscuit Company (now known as Nabisco) in 1898. The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company (later renamed Sunshine Biscuits) followed suit in the early 1910s. Early mass-produced graham crackers were made with yeast-leavened dough, but this is not the case anymore.

Today, cinnamon-, chocolate- or honey-flavored graham crackers are a very popular snack. In addition, they are used as an ingredient in a number of foods. For example, crushed graham crackers are combined with vegetable oil or butter and sometimes sugar to make a crust for cream pies and cheesecakes. Graham pie crusts have become so popular that they are mass-produced and sold at grocery stores and supermarkets.

Without graham crackers, we probably wouldn’t have had s’mores. Originally known as a graham cracker sandwich, s’more is a popular campfire treat that consists of two graham crackers with a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate sandwiched between them.

Graham crackers can also be used to make other sweet sandwiches with ice cream, fruit or some kind of nut butter, as well as parfait, pudding, sweet bars, toffee, and many other desserts and treats. Mango float, a popular Filipino icebox cake that is usually made with ladyfingers (called broas in the Philippines), can be made with graham crackers instead.

It is unclear who invented National Graham Cracker Day and why it is celebrated on July 5, but does it really matter? What matters is that you have the perfect excuse to indulge in some graham crackers, a few slices of cheesecake or cream pie made with a graham cracker crust, or delicious s’mores. And don’t forget to encourage your friends to join the celebration by posting on social media with the hashtag #NationalGrahamCrackersDay.