Anyone who is a fan of the sweet syrup that’s usually applied to the top of pancakes and waffles is going to love National Maple Syrup Day. This holiday falls on December 17th every year and celebrates the sweet, gooey stuff that comes from maple trees and sits in a bottle on millions of people’s breakfast tables.

Maple syrup is a sweet, viscous condiment that’s just waiting to complement that huge stack of pancakes and waffles you’re going to eat on this holiday.

The History of Maple Syrup

Maple syrup and maple sugar were produced by Native Americans living in northeastern North America for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived. No one knows exactly when they started producing these two products, but the Native Americans have several legends about the tradition of extracting and using maple syrup and sugar.

When Europeans arrived, local indigenous people showed them how to tap the trunks of certain types of maples—particularly black maple, sugar maple, or red maple trees. This led to full-scale harvesting of maple syrup by the end of the 17th century. From that point on, maple syrup production steadily increased over the years.

Sweet Maple Syrup Facts

If you’re going to celebrate National Maple Syrup Day, then you’re probably going to want to entertain friends and family with some maple syrup trivia. To help you out in that endeavor, we’ve listed some of the sweetest maple syrup facts we could find.

• To make one liter of maple syrup requires about 40 liters of maple sap.
• A maple tree has to be at least 40 years old before it can be tapped.
• Only three of thirteen Canadian maple tree species are used for maple syrup.
• Two-thirds of the world’s maple syrup is produced in Quebec, Canada.
• Stored properly, maple syrup that’s been opened can last several years.

Observing National Maple Syrup Day

Celebrate this holiday by using the hashtag #NationalMapleSyrupDay on your social media accounts and by enjoying a big stack of waffles or pancakes covered in copious amounts of maple syrup. Now that’s how a holiday should be spent.