🦁 National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day 2025 – Apr 18

🦓 National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day ORIGIN & HISTORY

Animal crackers in my soup. This was an iconic song sung by little Shirley Temple. Youngsters love them and their adorable animal shapes too. I’ve always wondered why they’re called animal crackers, which are similar to graham crackers. Why aren’t they called animal or graham cookies? In the UK cookies are called biscuits and digestives are a type of biscuit. Animal crackers are like a cookie similar to graham crackers which are similar in taste. Confused yet? National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day is celebrated on the 18th Day in April and iHEARTdays is here to help you make tasty sense of it all.

Different Animal Cracker BRANDS

People don’t really know where National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day got its start but there’s a pretty long history of modern-day animal crackers. Animal crackers don’t have to be prepared using unhealthy ingredients. You could also buy healthy packaged cookies.

Market Square Food has a really good & healthy plant-based conscious animal cracker product that’s delicious and good for you. We met Anthony, who runs the company, at the trade show IAAPA in Orlando. He was very nice and has a genuine concern about using quality ingredients to make healthy treats for kids and kids at heart.

Many of you can recall reaching into a box or container of animal crackers and trying to decipher the animal cracker shape. I can remember biting off the tiger’s head first! It’s fun and enjoyable and many people like the taste of the mildly sweet treat.

Most are very familiar with the Nabisco product Barnum’s Animal Crackers in a string box. Stauffer’s also is a popular animal cracker company. If you’re looking for gluten-free animal crackers, try MI-Del’s animals. They’re made with arrowroot flour and are also very nice.

Animal Crackers Through HISTORY

The history of animal crackers dates back as early as the 6th and 7th centuries to the pagan Yule tribe. Tribes people who couldn’t afford to make sacrifices to the Gods with actual animals made bread and cookies in the shape of animals instead. This was during the celebration of Yulefest ceremonies, in hopes that such offerings would bring about a mild winter or an early spring.

Modern-day animal crackers came from England in the late 19th century. PT Barnum, the circus showman, even had a famous box of animal crackers named after him. Barnum, ever the promoter used the crackers with a circus theme to promote his traveling acts. By 1902 during the Christmas season, his brilliant marketing strategy had worked.

Animal Crackers made their way to the United States. One of the larger bakers of animal crackers is Stauffer’s Biscuit Company which makes iced and chocolate animal cracker varieties. The bakery started in York, Pennsylvania in 1871 and is still around today.

Lots of companies make animal crackers but the most famous is Barnum’s Animals. Nabisco first started making them under the name National Biscuit Company in 1902, naming them after the famed showman PT Barnum, The crackers’ colorful boxes looked like circus cars with animals. These boxes had strings attached so as to serve as a Christmas ornament after the crackers were eaten. 1948 saw the name change to Barnum’s Animal Crackers. And in the 1950s Nabisco started using a rotary die which helped with the appearance of the crackers.

🦒 HOW to Celebrate & Observe National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day?

Not sure how to LOVE the day? We’ve got a few interesting ideas to consider that may help get you started.

Here are some activities that you can do on National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day!

💙 MUNCH on some crackers

Get yourself some animal crackers. Healthier ones are better for kids such as Happy Snacks Animal Crackers. Happy Snacks’ healthier option also comes in an even cuter and prettier box than Nabisco with adorable animals on it: an elephant, camel, bull, and a fox.

💙 WHIP up a bunch of yummy crackers

Make up a batch of healthy ones if you have the time.

💙 Be INVENTIVE with dessert

Get creative and prepare a special dessert out of yogurt dip with fresh fruit and animal crackers. That’s great for getting complex carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins.

💙 RAISE Social Awareness

Use social media posts with the hashtags #NationalAnimalCrackersDay, #AnimalCrackersDay, #AnimalCrackers, #Nabisco, #Stauffers, #FoodHolidays, #AprilHolidays, #Holiday, #FindADayToLOVE, #iHEARTdays to support the importance of celebrating, promoting, and sharing with the world why you ❤️ National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day.

🦘 LEARN more about the iconic ANIMAL CRACKERS

HEAR SHIRLEY TEMPLE SING ABOUT ANIMAL CRACKERS

HOW ANIMAL CRACKERS ARE MADE

🦭 NINE Fun Facts you never knew about National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day

1. Over the years there have been 54 different animals including the current tigers, cougars, camels, rhinoceroses, kangaroos, hippopotamuses, bison, lions, hyenas, zebras, elephants, sheep, bears, gorillas, monkeys, seals, giraffes.
2. The most popular animal cracker shapes are lions, tigers, bears, and elephants.
3. The first animal crackers were created in England in the late 1800s. They were called “animal biscuits” and were sold in boxes with circus-themed designs.
4. Nabisco makes 12,000 animal crackers each minute.
5. Around 40 million boxes of animal crackers are sold around the world each year in over 17 countries.
6. Due to animal cruelty undertones, in 2018 the Nabisco boxes no longer display caged animals. In fact, they worked with fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer to create an animal cracker edition that promoted tiger conservation with an African backdrop.
7. In the early 1900s, animal crackers were considered a luxury item and were often given as gifts.
8. What’s the string on the box used for? Originally it was meant to be carried like a lunchbox in 1902. A 1903 redesign offered to hang the box as an ornament on a Christmas tree. Nowadays kids usually carry it by the little string. In fact, almost 8,000 miles of string are used in the industry each year. Sadly Nabisco also got rid of the string during their 2018 redesign.
9. Charming as she was Shirley Temple, in the 1935 movie “Curly Top”, made lions & tigers jump through hoops and sang a song about having animal crackers in her soup including “monkeys and rabbits, loop the loop” 🙂 Check it out above!

🦬 Famous PEOPLE also born on April 18th

• Hayley Mills

  English actress best known for her child portrayal in Disney’s Pollyanna and The Parent Trap where she played dual roles as American and British twin sisters. Born 1946.

  HAYLEY MILLS Quote

  “I admire tremendously those people who work consistently at the same jobs.”

• Jane Leeves

  English actress best known for playing Daphne Moon in the NBC series Frasier after being discovered from a small role on Murphy Brown. Born 1961.

  JANE LEEVES Quote

  “I don’t have time to worry about looking cool.”

• Conan O’Brien

  American late-night TV host and comedian who served as a writer for The Simpsons and SNL. Best known for hosting talk shows for the better part of three decades. Born 1963.

  CONAN O’BRIEN Quote

  “When all else fails, there’s always delusion.”

🐯 Future DATES for National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day

Year	Date	Day of the Week
2023	April 18	Tuesday
2024	April 18	Thursday
2025	April 18	Friday
2026	April 18	Saturday
2027	April 18	Sunday

🦛 Animal Crackers FAQ

Who INVENTED animal crackers?

• In the late 19th century, Victorian England made sweet biscuit-like cookies as decorative animals that were popular at the time when taking tea.

What was the FIRST NAME of animal crackers?

• In 1902 when the National Biscuit Company came out with animal crackers they were first called Barnum’s Animals.

What FLAVORS are in animal crackers?

• Nabisco uses nutmeg and mace to flavor their cookies.

🐵 Why we L💜VE National ANIMAL CRACKERS Day

Animal crackers appeal to adults and kids alike. Eating animal crackers especially brings back memories. Lots of teachers and parents love these as treats for their kids.

You could make a nutritious animal cracker yourself. Or you could enjoy the more common sweet cookie kind from the store or even switch it up by trying the cheesy kind. I didn’t even know there was a cheese version until now. Either way, animal crackers are adorable and today’s the day to love these treats even more!

What’s Your Favorite Animal To Eat?

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