National Olive Day is a holiday that’s observed every year on the first day of June. It’s a day when one of the oldest fruits known to humankind can be honored and enjoyed. It’s a great time for people to ponder the history of this fruit or to consider all the things they can make with olives. After all, olives can be used in a variety of different ways—including in salads, on relish trays, in entrees, or as a garnish to an alcoholic beverage.

The History Of National Olive Day

National Olive Day was created in 2015 by Divina Products—a company known for producing a variety of Mediterranean products, including not only olives but also peppers, figs, and fig jams.

Interesting Facts About Olives

Anyone who is interested in learning some facts about olives might want to read this section of the holiday article to learn a few more facts about this interesting fruit. During the course of our research, we learned a whole lot of different things about olives—facts that we’d like to share with everyone reading this section. So hold on to your hats and enjoy some interesting facts about olives.

• The olive tree is actually an evergreen tree that keeps its leaves throughout the winter.
• It takes approximately 7 kg of olives to make a liter of olive oil.
• Olive oil is naturally sodium- and cholesterol-free.
• Olive oil has a shelf life of two years.
• Some olive trees can live up to a thousand years.
• It’s believed that humans have been extracting olive oil from olives for over 7,000 years.
• Olives and olive oil are good sources of Vitamins A, E, and K.
• Olives are too bitter to be eaten directly from the tree and must first be processed with brine.
• The world uses approximately 2.5 million tons of olive oil each year.
• The olive tree can reach a height of 15 meters (49 feet), not 4 feet.
• Olives aren’t native to the Americas; they were brought by Spanish colonists to the New World.
• Olive oil was used to anoint athletes and even kings in ancient Greece.
• An olive tree will begin to bear fruit after four years.

Observing National Olive Day

National Olive Day is best celebrated by enjoying olives in some way. That can be by placing olives in a martini, as a garnish to a meal, or by using them to make an olive-based dish such as Olive Tapenade or Green Olive Pasta. When you’ve made the perfect olive dish, don’t forget to use the hashtag #NationalOliveDay to show the world your creation.