National Food-Related Celebrations ‘Take the Cake’
June 23, 2023 | News | Reading Time 3:00 Minutes
Virtually Every Day of the Year is One to Celebrate
Virtually every day of every year is an excuse to celebrate the joys of life, with hundreds of opportunities ranging from the whimsical to the wacky. In fact, National Day Calendar’s Calendar at a Glance lists more than 1,500 national days. 1,500! Mother Goose Day, Curmudgeons Day, Ask a Stupid Question Day, and much more.
Some national days were created in a self-serving kind of way by businesses. Think ‘Hallmark Holidays,’ which are a manufactured reason to buy cards…Often considered in this category are holidays like Sweetest Day, Grandparents Day, Boss’s Day…
Food Rules
The very best of celebrations involve food. Interestingly enough, some food recognition days started with presidential proclamations or resolutions. President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation commemorating National Ice Cream Day (the third Sunday each July) in 1984. He also proclaimed National Frozen Food Day (March 6) and Catfish Day (June 25). Even though proclamations are supposed to be for one year, technically, the food-related ones are still ‘observed.’
Many food-related national days of celebration are rooted in history and local traditions. For instance, the Salvation Army created National Donut Day in 1938, honoring their ‘Lassies.’ These were the women who fried donuts in the helmets of soldiers on the frontline during WWI. The original National Donut Day was used as a fundraiser for Chicago’s Salvation Army during the Great Depression.
National Beer Day (April 7) celebrates the end of Prohibition. Reportedly, people lined up the night before so they could legally imbibe at the stroke of midnight.
Great Marketing Tools
Many food celebrations were created by companies looking to drum up interest in something related to food. For instance, Peanut Butter Day (January 24), Peanut Butter Cookie Day (June 12) and Peanut Butter Fudge Day (November 20) were all created by the National Peanut Board.
John-Bryan Hopkins, a social media consultant who created Foodimentary, compiled a list of 365 food holidays. Some were made up to fill in the calendar, i.e., Tater Tot Day. But who’s complaining? Absolutely nobody.
Social Media Fuels the #Food Frenzy
Social media has helped to fuel the food holiday frenzy. Marketing and public relations professionals and journalists utilize food celebrations to promote their goods and services, help spur sales, bring people into restaurants, and more. Add a #hashtag (no pun intended), and the days become a phenomenon.
National food days can be more than a marketing-oriented gimmick. Celebrating such days can be just a fun way to unite people. Furthermore, these are not only wonderful opportunities to savor the present, but they also have the ability to foster feelings of gratitude and connection and create memories to look back on.
At Millcroft Living, we love any excuse to celebrate in general, and when the celebration revolves around a food theme? Yes, please! Even if we don’t have a food-specific day to celebrate, we bring food into the equation. Most recently, we celebrated National Nurses Week with a cookout, St. Patrick’s Day with Irish delicacies, and Super Bowl with pizzas, pretzels and more. There truly is something for everyone, so seize the day – and turn it into a celebration!