National Punch Day is a holiday observed annually on September 20th, celebrating a drink that generally contains fruit juices and/or fruits and can be made in alcoholic or non-alcoholic versions. It is widely accepted that this drink was first introduced to England from the Indian subcontinent by employees of the East India Company.

Supposedly, it was introduced to England in the late 17th century and immediately became popular at parties and state functions. Although in most countries of the world, the word “punch” is used to describe drinks made with fruit juices, in the U.S., the opposite is true. Federal regulations allow the term “punch” to be used to describe commercial beverages that do not contain fruit juice and/or fruit.

The History Of National Punch Day

The original version of punch that was imported to England from India was named paantsch. It is believed the word “punch” is a Hindi loanword that means “five.” This word was used because the original drink was made with five different ingredients: sugar, juice, water, spices, and alcohol. The word “punch” was first written down in English documents in 1632.

Interesting Facts About Punch

Anyone wanting to learn more about punch can stick around and check out the following facts that we’ve learned about this beverage while researching National Punch Day. Let’s take a peek at them.

• Hawaiian Punch was created by A.W. Leo, Ralph Harrison, and Tom Yates in 1934 in Fullerton, California.
• Jungle juice is a homemade punch made with a variety of juices, fruits, and different types of alcohol.
• By the end of the 17th century, Punch Houses became common.

Observing National Punch Day

It is our personal opinion that this holiday should be celebrated by making your own punch. And since there are so many different punch recipes, you have plenty of options available to you.

It is easy to make the original punch recipe (made with lime juice) or one of the traditional fall and holiday punch recipes out there on the World Wide Web. After making your favorite punch recipe, be sure to let us all know about it using the hashtag #NationalPunchDay.