September is a sweet time to celebrate National Honey Month! This delicious food holiday celebrates the most important time for beekeepers and producers across the country.

#NationalHoneyMonth

September is a time when bees begin preparing for winter, which means honey collectors are busy bees working to harvest honey. National Honey Month provides opportunity to recognize the dedicated people who bring honey into our homes. 

Honey is a sweet substance made by honey bees. Bees produce honey after consuming sugar from plants. The honey is made and stored in bee colonies for the purpose of nourishing the bees after the honey sugar becomes thick. The bees continuously make honey as it forms into honeycombs and using the honey as nourishment.

Honey has been a part of human culture since the beginning of time. Fossils of honey were discovered dating back at least 150 million years. In addition, cave paintings were found in Spain with humans consuming honey dating back 8,000 years ago. There are also records of Mayans collecting honey for consumption who believed honey had magical properties. 

5 Sweet Honey Facts

1. One honey bee produces about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.
2. It takes around 23,000 bees to fill one jar of honey. 
3. Honey is found in a variety of colors, including red, yellow, clear, and brown.
4. The rarest honey harvested in the world is purple and found only in the southern parts of the U.S.
5. The oldest honey was found in the country of Georgia and is believed to be around 5,500 years old.

CELEBRATING NATIONAL HONEY MONTH

1. Buy honey from your local honey bee collector or producer.
2. Visit a honey bee farm to learn about the honey making process.
3. Try some flavored honey.
4. Replace your usual sweetener with honey for the day and see if you like it!
5. Give the gift of honey to a friend, neighbor, co-worker or family member.
6. Show your support for your local honey collector and processor on social media using the hashtag #NationalHoneyMonth.

HISTORY BEHIND NATIONAL HONEY MONTH

The National Honey Board created National Honey Month in 1989 to support and show recognition to honey producers and beekeepers in the U.S.