Rhubarb is the edible and fleshy stalks of species and hybrids of Rheum in the Polygonaceae family. They are cooked and used for food and are noted for their tart flavor—a flavor so tart that some people find it unappealing.

This sour flavor does happen to mellow a bit when cooked, but it’s still mixed with sugar in most cases to make it more appealing. That’s probably why rhubarb is mainly used for making pies—a dessert that’s particularly popular in the UK but has been steadily gaining popularity in the U.S. over the past few years.

So popular that it has earned its own holiday. A day that’s observed annually on the 23rd of January is known as National Rhubarb Pie Day.

The History of National Rhubarb Pie Day

Rhubarb has been cultivated by humans for at least 4,700 years and may go back even further than that. Historians know that it was grown widely throughout China, Mongolia, and Tibet going back to at least 2,700 B.C. However, at that time, it was mainly grown for medicinal purposes and wasn’t seen as a food crop.

The ancient Romans imported rhubarb roots into Europe. It was first named Rha barbarum, which meant root from barbarians across the Rha River (another name for the Volga River), and this would eventually become rhabarbarum, which is Latin for the rhubarb plant. The English word rhubarb would be derived from this Latin word.

At some point in time, someone decided that rhubarb pie should get its own holiday. Unfortunately, we’re unsure who invented it or when it was invented. It could’ve been invented by someone who was a really big fan of rhubarb pie, or it could’ve been invented by a rhubarb growers association. We simply have no way of knowing at this time.

Facts About Rhubarb

Let’s go over a couple of real quick rhubarb facts. We’re only listing a few because we already did a trivia section for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day, and we don’t want to be redundant. With that said, let’s check out the facts we’ve gathered below.

• Rhubarb was only used as a food after the 17th century.
• Rhubarb belongs to the buckwheat family.
• Rhubarb is believed to be toxic to pets.

Observing National Rhubarb Pie Day

This is a holiday that should be observed by enjoying a nice rhubarb pie. Just make sure that it’s not a strawberry rhubarb pie because that pie should be reserved for the June holiday National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day.

That’s the only rule for celebrating National Rhubarb Pie Day. While you’re celebrating this holiday, you should use the hashtag #RhubarbPieDay to let other people know about this holiday so they too can enjoy rhubarb pie.