WITTENBURG, GERMANY — The National Day Calendar has officially appointed and certified March 20 as World Flour Day.

The day falls in the middle of the solstice, which varies between March 19-21. In the northern hemisphere it marks the beginning of spring and planting while in the southern hemisphere, it represents autumn and harvesting.

“At last we have one day in the year that reminds us to appreciate our daily flour — the white gold of life,” said Carsten Blum of FlourWorld Museum, which initiated creation of the day.

Millers, bakers, confectioners and pasta manufacturers will use this day to draw attention to the significance and diversity of flour products with their creative activities.

With the new World Flour Day, the FlourWorld Museum draws attention to the civilizing power flour has always had.

“Flour has secured man’s survival for thousands of years,” said Volkmar Wywiol, founder of the FlourWorld Museum.

Products made from flour are the daily food of billions of people. All over the world, flour is made into foods like bread, biscuits, cake, pasta and many other goods. It is one of mankind’s most important staple foods and has been for thousands of years.

Established in Wittenburg, Germany, in 2008, the museum houses the world’s biggest collection of flour sacks. The motifs on the 3,500 or more sacks from 140 countries testify to the pride of the millers. They tell surprising, moving and sometimes incredible stories of what corn, flour and bread mean to people all over the world. Moreover, flour is a historical power factor of the highest order. In a cultural and historical tour, the FlourWorld Museum illuminates the effects flour had on mankind between the Neolithic and the Industrial Revolution and will continue to have in future.