Not so celebrated here in the UK, but it does exist and here is why… (thanks to National Day Calendar)

Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil on this day in 1858.

The majority of pencils made in the United States are painted yellow.  It is believed that this tradition began in 1890 when the L & C Hardtmuth Company of Austria-Hungary introduced their Koh-I-Noor brand, named after the famous diamond.  This pencil was intended to be the world’s best and most expensive pencil.  Other companies then began to copy the yellow color so that their pencils would be associated with the high quality brand.

Thanks to Greg for the image