Pocky & Pretz Day facts for kids

Chocolate flavoured Pocky

A hand written sign, in front of a small Japanese convenience store, advertising Pocky Day

Pocky & Pretz Day (ポッキー＆プリッツの日, Pokkii & Purittsu no hi) is a fun Japanese celebration that happens every year on November 11th. It's a special day created by a company called Ezaki Glico. They make two popular snacks: Pocky and Pretz. Both of these snacks are long, thin biscuits. The date, 11/11, looks like four of these thin biscuits standing up!

Ezaki Glico started this special day with advertising campaigns way back in 1999. It has become so well-known that the Japan Anniversary Association (日本記念日協会, Nihon Kinenbi Kyoukai) has officially recognized it as a "memorial day." This means it's a day people remember and celebrate each year.

What is Pocky & Pretz Day?

Pocky & Pretz Day is a day to enjoy these yummy stick-shaped snacks. The idea behind the date, November 11th (11/11), is pretty clever. Imagine the number "1" as a long, thin stick. Since Pocky and Pretz are also long and thin, the date 11/11 looks like four of these snacks lined up!

People in Japan celebrate by buying and sharing Pocky and Pretz. It's a day for friends and family to have fun together. Sometimes, stores have special deals on these snacks. It's a great example of how a company can make a product into a fun yearly event.

Setting World Records

Pocky & Pretz Day isn't just about snacks; it's also about making history! On November 11, 2012, Ezaki Glico tried to set a world record. They wanted to see how many times the word "Pocky" could be mentioned on Twitter in just 24 hours.

That day, "Pocky" was mentioned an amazing 1,843,733 times! This huge number set a brand new Guinness World Records record. But the fun didn't stop there. The very next year, on November 11, 2013, the record was broken again. This time, "Pocky" was mentioned 3,710,044 times! That's more than double the mentions from the year before. It shows how popular Pocky & Pretz Day is.