We all are fond of fruits as they are nutritious, tasty and healthy. There exists a lot of them but today we gonna discuss the most beloved ones ever – apples. Well, now we will find out what the history is and when National Apple Day is?
So, Apple Day is celebrated annually on 21st of October since 1990. Moreover, it is held in order to emphasize the importance and majesty of this fruit. We should celebrate such days as it socializes us and makes us more friendly and globalized.
An apple as an object of study has a huge cognitive potential of human activity: historical, literary, folklore, biological, medical, cosmetology, culinary.
If you believe the legend, the apple tree appeared already on the third day after the beginning of “works on the creation of the world.” According to the documents, the first “traces” of trees were discovered in the middle of the third millennium BC. The history of the trees is rich. Wherever this culture appeared, it immediately won people’s sympathy. This was promoted by amazing beauty during flowering, the perfect form, perfect taste, dietary and healing properties of fruits.
An apple tree is a fruit tree of the Rosacea family with spherical sweet or sour-sweet fruits.
Interestingly, even the word “paradise” in Celtic means “the country of apples.”
The cradle of the culture is considered to be Ancient Greece. From the Greeks and the Romans, the culture spread throughout Western Europe, and then throughout the world.
It can be said with certainty that the tree is not only the most widespread fruit culture but also the oldest one, whose fruits – at that time wild – were eaten from time immemorial. It is difficult to establish its age, but it is certain that it was introduced into the culture not less than five thousand years ago. And recently, the authority of apples has increased even more: they are included in the compulsory diet of astronauts. It turns out that this fruit tolerates space velocities well while remaining intact, while lemons and oranges “explode” in the stratosphere, scattering into patchwork pieces.
Among the cultivated plants, the green tree occupies one of the places of honor. In ancient myths, fairy tales, and legends, this unpretentious, all-beloved fruit is mentioned often. Images of apples were found during excavations of many monuments of Egypt. Ancient Greeks and Romans used the fruit as a symbol of love and it was dedicated to the goddess of beauty. The ancient Germans believed that the tree enjoyed the protection of all the gods, and the Apple was their favorite food. If we recall the history of the Trojan War, then our fruit played the main role of its emergence, left by the goddess of discord Eris.
The centuries passed, science developed. Apples were examined, the chemical composition and effects on the human body were determined.
In ancient manuscripts, deciphered by scientists, there is information about the campaign in the middle of the III millennium BC of E. Akkadian king Sargon to the north, to Cappadocia, to Asia Minor. His soldiers ate apples in the gardens of the leaders of the conquered tribes. The Hittites, tribes who created a state in Asia Minor in the second half of the II millennium BC, used apples in barter trade.
In Ancient Greece and, especially, in Ancient Rome, the technology of cultivation of apple trees was developed; nurseries for growing seedlings were established. Ancient Roman scholar Pliny the Elder wrote at the beginning of our era: “It is decided not to immediately plant shoots (layers or seeds) in the place intended for them, and pre-instruct their wet nurse, giving them to grow in nurseries, then to move. To do this, it is important to choose a special soil, because it is desirable that the nurse is kinder than the mother (in the forest).”
In the Middle Ages, Christian authors interpreted the myth of Hera’s garden as a legend about the earthly paradise, trying to reconcile the ancient myth with the biblical one. The fruit tree was given to Hera on the day of her wedding with Zeus by Gaea. Hercules killed Lada dragon, who destroyed the garden, and took away the golden apples (an option: Atlas gathered the apples for Hercules while he supported the heavenly vault instead).
Today, there are more than 7500 kinds of the trees. Due to its unusually long DNA structure, apple trees are characterized by excellent frost resistance, normal tolerance of hot climate and drought.
The fruit symbolizes fertility, health, and beauty. It is valued as a medicine, because it contains a lot of vitamins, its juice has a beneficial effect in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, is able to remove toxins and reduce cholesterol in the blood, improve metabolism.
It is especially useful to eat apples in the winter, and not only because there are few vitamins in winter. In winter, people consume more caloric food (meat, fish, eggs), acidifying the internal environment of the body. Acid exchange products are thrown into the brain tissue in large quantities when fatigued, so apples are recommended to people of mental labor.
What does Apple Day mean is somehow mentioned above and now we want you to get acquainted with an interesting fact.
In one of the hospitals, a curious experiment was conducted: such fruit with a high content of P-vitamin compounds, which were offered to a group of hypertensive patients, were selected. The course of treatment consisted in the use of 300 g of apples daily for 2 weeks. As a result, it was found that apples can easily be treated with non-severe forms of hypertension without any additional medication.
The issue what is the date of National Apple Day 2019 has been discussed with the facilitation of calendar that assisted in it.
We should add to the above mentioned experiment that apples with a high content of P-vitamin compounds are very useful for people with increased fragility of blood vessels (sclerosis). Trying to explain the decrease in mortality from a cerebral vascular disease that has been observed in England in the last few decades, British scientists have suggested that this is due to increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Broken arteries in hypertensive patients arise from a lack of vitamin P and ascorbic acid in the body.
Wherever you are, it’s recommended to navigate yourself according to different habits and traditions established in the area. So, many festivals and competitions are held every year and you should not escape and miss such an opportunity to get a lot of vitamins as well as emotions.
- According to a famous legend, the law of universal gravitation was discovered by Newton, when an apple fell on his head.
- In 2005, a Japanese Chisato Iwasaki got a huge apple on his farm in the city of Hirosaki, the weight of which was 1.849 kg.
- Green apples favorably affect the strength of bones and teeth. They improve vision and have anti-inflammatory properties. In green fruits, vitamin C is more abundant than in red ones.
To sum up, you should always be in trend and not forget about your health maintenance and diet.