International Pineapple Day Date in the current year: June 27, 2024

The pineapple is a herbaceous tropical plant indigenous to South America; the name also applies to the edible fruit of the plant. Pineapples were introduced to Europe in the 17th century and have been commercially grown since the early 19th century. The world’s leading producers of pineapples are the Philippines, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Brazil, China, and Thailand.

Pineapples (which, by the way, are an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese) can be eaten as is or used in cooking. Although they are primarily used in desserts, such as fruit salads and cakes, pineapples can also be used in savory dishes like pizza or hamburgers. Pineapple juice is used in marinades because it contains bromelain, an enzyme that tenderizes meat. It is also a key ingredient in some cocktails such as the famous piña colada.

International Pineapple Day originated in 2011 as International Bring Your Pineapple to Work Day. It was created by Andrew Lee and James Tamplin, the co-founders of the app development platform Firebase. On June 27, 2011, Andrew woke up to find himself craving pineapple, so he bought one on his way to work. When James asked him why he brought a pineapple to work, Andrew answered that it was International Bring Your Pineapple to Work Day. He added the holiday as an annual event to the company’s shared Google Calendar, tweeted about Bring Your Pineapple to Work Day… and promptly forgot about it.

A year later Michael, a new team member, saw International Bring Your Pineapple to Work Day on the calendar and showed up to work with a big, juicy pineapple. This is when Andrew realized that a holiday like that could catch on easily and decided to make it an annual event. In 2014, Google acquired Firebase, which allowed Andrew and his team to promote the holiday to a wider audience. In 2015, their celebration created such a buzz on social media that multiple holiday websites added it to their holiday lists, shortening its name to International Pineapple Day.

Finally, major brands, celebrities and influencers took notice of International Pineapple Day, and it has snowballed from there. Today, very few people actually know that the person behind the holiday is Andrew Lee, who still celebrates International Pineapple Day every year even though he is no longer at Firebase and considers the holiday one of his proudest achievements.

There are many ways to celebrate International Pineapple Day and honor the delicious fruit that is pineapple. You can enjoy fresh or canned pineapples, cook something with pineapples, drink a tall glass of refreshing pineapple juice or a piña colada, throw a pineapple-themed party for your friends, and spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #PineappleDay and #InternationalPineappleDay.