50+ Lifestyles

December 13 – National Hot Cocoa Day

By Kari Smith
Editor-in-Chief

Listen up, blanket-wrapped humans: December 13 is National Cocoa Day, and skipping it should be considered a crime against winter. This is the one day we’re legally (okay, emotionally) required to drown our souls in steaming, chocolatey bliss. Hot cocoa isn’t just a drink; it’s liquid nostalgia. One sip and you’re eight years old again, snowflakes stuck to your eyelashes, convinced marshmallows are tiny clouds you can eat. Science backs the magic: cacao pumps you full of theobromine (nature’s gentle caffeine) and anandamide (literally nicknamed the “bliss molecule”). Translation: hot cocoa is happiness you can drink.

Fun facts to spill while your mug defogs your glasses:

• Aztecs used cacao beans as money. Imagine paying for tacos with hot-chocolate currency. Goals.
• Montezuma supposedly downed 50 cups a day. Fifty. The original chocoholic.
• The world’s most expensive hot cocoa (Serendipity 3, NYC) costs $1,000 and comes with a gold bracelet. On December 13 we say: keep the bracelet, just give us the cocoa.
• Marshmallows were originally made from the marshmallow plant (true story) to soothe sore throats — then someone genius decided sore throats deserve to be delicious.

So on December 13, break out the candy canes for stirring, top it with a mountain of whipped cream that defies physics, maybe spike it if you’re feeling festive (we won’t tell). Light the fireplace, queue the cheesiest holiday movie, and toast to the drink that’s been warming humanity for 4,000 years. Hot cocoa doesn’t just warm your hands; it warms your entire grumpy winter soul. Honor it. You deserve it. We all do.