Enjoy the rainbow of candy colors and delicious chocolate bits in this bag of M&Ms!

These tiny bits of candy-coated chocolate were invented in 1941 and have had a profound impact on American history for more than 80 years!

M&Ms were inspired by the Spanish Civil War. Forrest Mars Sr., of the Mars Candy Company, was living in England at that time and began to make small pieces of chocolate coated with candy shells that would prevent them from melting. The Mars Candy Company was inspired to create M&Ms. These little candies have been a joy for millions over the years.

M&Ms were only available to the United States Army during World War II. They provided them to their soldiers. These candies were easily transportable and heat resistant, so they became part of the rations for soldiers during World War II.

M&Ms got their iconic “m” stamp in 1950 after the war. M&Ms customers were encouraged to look for the “m” on every piece of food after copycat companies emerged.

M&Ms were the first candy ever to go into space in 1981. These little candies are perfect for space travel because of the same reasons they were useful for wartime rations. Columbia, NASA’s first spacecraft, carried the candies out to space.

National M&M Day was established to honor this candy, which is loved all over the globe!

There are many fun and creative ways to celebrate National M&M Day. These are some ideas you might like:

Grab a bag of M&Ms for a quick snack or afternoon pick-me up on this day. M&Ms are delicious on their own but they also taste great added to trail mix or sprinkled on top of ice-cream.

M&Ms come in many flavors. You can choose from plain M&Ms or peanut M&Ms in the brown bag. Peanut butter M&Ms in orange bags, Crispy M&Ms in blue bags and mint M&Ms in green bags have all been a huge hit.

National M&M Day’s best feature is that these candies can be shared! Take a large bag to work and pass it around to your coworkers. You can also get large containers of mini bags that you can send to school to celebrate the occasion.

These tiny pieces of rainbow-colored chocolatey goodness make a great ingredient for baking. You can use them as a substitute in cookies, or to make granola bars without baking. M&Ms can also be eaten with popcorn, or as a part of a brownie recipe. National M&M Day has many options!