I Love Reese's Day

I Love Reese's Day is a celebration of the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter and the visionary who got them together in the first place.

History of I Love Reese's Day

Today, we celebrate the candy that combines chocolate and peanut butter, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, as well as the man who created it, Harry Burnett Reese. In 2010, Hershey sponsored an online petition declaring May 18 the Day of I Love Reese, and it was signed by 40,000 fans. May was chosen as the date because the holiday would then be sandwiched between National Peanut Butter Lovers' Day in March and Chocolate Day in July. As part of the first celebration, Reese's donated Reese's 10,000 Cups of peanut butter.

In 1917, H.B. Reese began working on a Hershey dairy farm, and in the early 1920s he began working at a Hershey candy factory. At the time, he started making candy in his basement, partly because he was on his way to 16 children and needed to earn extra income to feed them. He uses a variety of fresh ingredients and coats them in Hershey's chocolate.

He quit Hershey's and founded H.B. Reese Candy Company in 1923. He was the creator of a lot of candies and was successful when he built a new factory and home in 1926. In addition, he invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in 1928. Because then he only sold them for a penny, they are called "coin cups". They became the most popular candy he made, and he started selling them in 5-pound boxes to retailers to display their candy.

During World War II, when the sugar was being broken down, Reese stopped making everything but peanut butter cups, which used less sugar than the rest of his candy. His company continued to grow into more success, but he died in 1956 at the age of 76. He left the company to his six sons, and in 1963 they sold it to Hershey's Chocolate Company with Priced at $23.5 million in stock - now worth more than $1 billion.

There have been many varieties of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and related products over the years, such as the Dark and White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups; miniature, mini and large cups; and Reese's Pieces. There's even a cereal called Reese's Puffs. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups continue to be one of the best-selling candies in the United States and enjoyed by millions there and around the world.

How to celebrate I Love Reese's Day

Celebrate the day by eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and other Reese treats. They don't just need to be eaten — you can also use them to make something. If you want to learn more about Reese and his peanut butter cups, you can read REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups: The Untold Story, written by one of the H.B. Reese's grandsons.