On November, 30th people all over are celebrating National Mason Jar Day!
This day celebrates the invention of the mason jar and its usability in homes everywhere. Since hipsters and homesteaders alike are making mason jars a staple, let’s drop some facts about mason jars and their fascinating past!
“The origins of the mason jar started with John Landis Mason’s patent #22186 in 1858, which issued a safer design for the screw neck bottles used to store food.” – Days Of The Year
“Even though Mason jars can be purchased at just about any store these days and have a multitude of uses, their creator, John L. Mason, didn’t make any money off of them. He patented his invention in 1858 (at the age of just 26!), but the patent expired in 1879. Since most competitor brands didn’t start making Mason jars until after 1879, he didn’t see any of the profit.” – Country Living
“Five brothers founded Ball in 1880 with a $200 loan from their Uncle George.” Initially, the company made wood-jacketed tin cans for products such as paint, kerosene, and other chemicals. Four years later, the brothers began manufacturing glass home-canning jars, the product that established Ball as a household name. – Mason Jars.com
“The decline in Mason jar manufacturing in North America is due to a sharp decline in popularity of home canning in the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of supermarket canned foods, and the consolidation of the US canning jar industry.” – Wikipedia
“…the rise of refrigeration in the post-war years pushed people to freeze rather than can. As the jar became less of a necessity, the culture surrounding it changed, Kelly writes. She notes that her mother and aunt canned with Mason jars in the 1960s and 70s, as part of a back-to-the-land movement. And now, the jar is back.” – Smithsonian Mag
“Half a century later, the Mason jar is having another moment. Thanks to writers like Michael Pollan, Dan Barber, and Alice Waters, many people are much more aware of the food that they’re eating and the high costs — environmental and economic — of transporting it to their plates, encouraging a return to locally grown produce and activities like canning. Whereas tinned food now connotes poverty, Mason jars, with their pleasing shape and transparency, suggest a kind of wholesome luxury.” – Ariana Kelly
“The Registrar at National Day Calendar® proclaimed National Mason Jar Day to be observed annually beginning in 2017.” – National Day Calendar
Below are some of the most gorgeous Mason Jar photos we came across on Instagram, so be sure to check out their accounts and give them a “like” and a “follow”! Happy Canning!
