National Coconut Day is a holiday that falls on June 26th and is a day when people can enjoy coconuts in all their forms. It’s a day when people can cook with coconut oil, make coconut cream pie, or simply make themselves a refreshing pina colada—one of the most famous coconut-based drinks.

Just be sure not to confuse this holiday with World Coconut Day—a day that falls on the 2nd of September.

The History Of National Coconut Day

National Coconut Day is a holiday that was first founded in 2017. It was established by the Coconut Coalition of the Americas (CCA) to bring attention to the versatility of coconuts and to promote them to the general public. They especially wanted to impress upon the general public that the coconut is useful for more than just baking.

Facts About Coconuts

We’ve already covered some of the ways that coconuts can be used in cooking, so we’ll spare our readers any more coconut-based recipes. What we will give our readers, however, is a list of some of the fascinating things about coconuts that they might want to know.

• Falling coconuts kill over 150 people each year—that’s more than ten times as many people as are killed by sharks.
• Every year, over 20 billion coconuts are grown.
• Research is currently being conducted to see if coconuts can be used in anti-aging cosmetic formulations.
• There is also research ongoing to determine whether chemicals found in coconuts can be used in hair regrowth formulations.
• Contrary to Internet rumors, coconut water isn’t similar to blood plasma.
• The coconut water/blood plasma rumor started because coconut water was given to soldiers during WWII when emergency saline supplies were depleted.
• National Coconut Cream Pie Day is celebrated in May.
• World Coconut Day is celebrated in September.
• Coconut is a word that’s made from a combination of the Portuguese word for hobgoblin “Coco” and the English word “nut.”
• The coconut palm is the national tree of the Maldives.
• Coconut water is approximately 94% water.
• A coconut tree can produce up to 180 coconuts per year.
• The largest producers of coconuts are India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
• Coconut husk can be burned and then used as a mosquito repellent.

Observing National Coconut Day

Each day, people are discovering more ways to cook with the humble coconut. People make everything from coconut cream pie to ice cream from them, and National Coconut Day is a good day to try out all those coconut-based recipes. So find a way to use coconut on this day, take a picture of your creation, and then post it to social media using the hashtag #NationalCoconutDay.