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National Licorice Day2030 Countdown
Friday, April 12, 2030
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About National Licorice Day
National Licorice Day on April 12 celebrates one of the most polarizing flavors in the candy aisle. People tend to sort themselves into two camps: those who adore the deep, herbal sweetness of black licorice and those who would trade their entire bag for anything else. The flavor comes from the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra, a legume native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, whose name means sweet root in Greek.
Real licorice root has been used for thousands of years as medicine, tea, and flavoring, and it remains essential in sweets across Northern Europe, where salty licorice called salmiak inspires fierce loyalty in the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
In the United States, red licorice ropes are usually flavored with strawberry or cherry and contain no licorice at all, a fact black-licorice loyalists love to mention. April 12 is the day to try the real thing, sample anise-adjacent treats, or defend your camp's honor at the office candy bowl.
History of National Licorice Day
Licorice root is ancient history you can chew. Egyptian pharaohs were buried with it, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine prized it for soothing coughs, and Roman soldiers reportedly chewed the root on long marches. Cultivation spread through Europe, and in the eighteenth century an English confectioner named George Dunhill added sugar to licorice extract, creating the Pontefract cake and launching a candy industry in Yorkshire. Italian producers built presses for pure extract, and Dutch and Nordic confectioners pushed the flavor into salty, ammonium-chloride territory with salmiak licorice. In America, licorice extract flavored early candies and pipe tobacco, while red twists became the stateside favorite. The modern holiday was founded in 2004 by licorice enthusiasts to champion the root and its long, sweet story.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- When is National Licorice Day?
- It comes around every year on April 12, a fixed date for tasting, debating, and defending the world's most divisive candy flavor.
- Is National Licorice Day a public holiday?
- No. It is a candy-themed fun day, not a public holiday. Candy shops and online retailers may offer deals, but daily life runs normally.
- How do people celebrate National Licorice Day?
- Fans celebrate by sampling licorice from different countries, learning how the root is harvested and processed, and staging taste tests between black licorice and its imitators.
- Is red licorice actually licorice?
- Usually not. Most red twists are flavored with strawberry or cherry and contain no licorice root, which is why purists insist the black kind is the only true licorice.