NATIONAL DAY

National Pistachio Day is the time to celebrate this popular nut, which happens to be native to the Middle Eastern areas of the globe, including the areas that are now Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and even southern Russia. It is thought that pistachio nuts date back pretty far into human history. In fact, they are believed to have been not only eaten by humans for at least 9000 years, but they have become an interesting part of some cultures and traditions! Some historians have said that the famous hanging gardens of Babylon probably contained pistachio plants (which hang in groups similar to the way grapes do), some time around the year 700 BC. In fact, pistachios are only one of two nuts that are actually mentioned in the Old Testament portions of the Bible which are believed to have been assembled some time around 500 BC or so. Pistachios are so special that, at one point, legend has it that the Queen of Sheba restricted the eating of pistachios to the royal court and forbade commoners to grow them! It probably wasnt until the 1st century AD that pistachios made their way to Europe as they traveled there with the Romans. Fast forward another several hundred years or so, and the pistachio was imported to the United States during the 1800s, at the request of various Americans who had roots in the Middle East. Finally, in the early 1900s, they became a popular snack food throughout the US and could be found almost everywhere, even in vending machines.