International Day of Cake: a celebration that doesn't make you fatThis day smells of vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and fresh berries. July 20th is a date not marked in red in official calendars, but thousands of people around the world are eagerly waiting for it. The International Day of Cake is a celebration without politics, without borders, without age restrictions. It unites everyone who has ever tried a piece of sponge cake with cream, who blew out candles on a birthday cake, who looked at the pastry shop window with gleaming eyes. It is a day when you can eat sweet without feeling guilty, because tradition is a sacred thing. But where did this celebration come from, what does it mean, and why do we love this multilayered symbol of joy so much? Let's understand the history, psychology, and geography of the sweetest day of the year.Where the Day of Cake came from: the Italian heritageThe history of the International Day of Cake began in Italy, a country where a love for sweet things has been elevated to the level of art. In 2011, Italian pastry chef and blogger Ganni Antoni, inspired by the idea of creating a celebration that would unite everyone who loves baking, proposed to celebrate the Day of Cake. The date was chosen not by chance — July 20th, in the height of summer, when berries and fruits are at their best, and people have enough free time for culinary experiments.The idea quickly caught on in social networks: hashtags, photos, recipes, and virtual greetings spread across the globe in just a few days. The celebration turned out to be so simple, human, and joyful that it was enthusiastically accepted in dozens of countries. Today, the Day of Cake is celebrated in Europe, America, Asia, and Australia. It doesn't require gifts, but requires cakes — and that is the tastiest requirement of the year.Interestingly, the initiative of the pastry chef-blogger was in harmony with old European traditions: in many cultures, there were days when special pies were baked ... Читать далее