Happy National Graham Crackers Day!

National Graham Crackers Day – July 5, 2022

National Graham Cracker Day celebrates graham crackers, which have interesting origins. The story goes that a reverend from the 19th century called Sylvester Graham, who was part of the temperance movement that wanted to curb the intake of alcohol, invented the crackers as a way of controlling lustful desires. He believed that a simple vegetarian diet and lifestyle was how God intended human beings to live. The people who followed him were called ‘Grahamites’, and together, these people led one of the first all-vegetarian movements in America. According to Graham, such a lifestyle, free of sins related to lust and gluttony, also kept diseases like tuberculosis, spinal diseases, and insanity at bay. Thus, he created the graham cracker recipe from coarsely ground whole wheat flour, brans, and grains. The reverend added only a little sweetness to make it easier to consume, but he kept the flavors mainly bland.