Buffet table. Andrea Egger / Pixabay.com / 2010 / CC0 1.0
What’s happening when and where in the world of food: a calendar of special food days.
| January | May | September |
| February | June | October |
| March | July | November |
| April | August | December |
January 1st is New Year's Day around the world. Some foods are seen as lucky to eat at New Year. The foods, though, vary by culture. In Japan, it's noodles and rice cakes; in the southern US, it's black-eyed peas; in Italy it's lentils.
The 1st of March is St David's Day. He is reputed to have had his soldiers attach leeks to their caps.
April's Fool Day is a day traditionally for playing tricks on others. The tricks are meant to be harmless tricks, aimed particularly at fooling someone into believing something that isn't real.
The 1st of November is Vinegar Day. You can hold a vinegar tasting, or make a vinegar pie, or put vinegar on your French fries.
When's the last time you made a Baked Alaska -- or, have you ever? With Baked Alaska Day once again upon us, it may be time to give it a try.
The 1st of October is World Vegetarian Day. Being a vegetarian isn't anything new, as many people think it is. In fact, it was practised back in Ancient Greece.
This is it, the big day. All across America right now, people are visiting, phoning and emailing friends and neighbours to exchange their bread pudding recipes.
In Corsica, on All Saints Day, people place milk and chestnuts (of the châtaigne type) on window sills for the visiting dead to eat.
This is All Saints Day in Mexico, the first of two days to honour the dead. This first day focusses on dead children and babies.
May Day celebrations were a big holiday during the Middle Ages. The trunks of very tall trees were used as May Poles and would be painted and decorated.
Doughnut Day is the first Friday in June each year. Many people avoid doughnuts on a regular basis, but today might be a good day to treat yourself.
Canada Day celebrates the day that Canada became a country on 1 July 1867. It is a day for outdoor eating of summer food, whether the eating be at a picnic, on the back deck or while camping.
The Duck feast is held every year on the 1st of June at the Cat Inn, in the village of Charlton, Wiltshire.
Lughnasadh marks the start of autumn in the Celtic calendar, and the start of the harvest for grain. It's an ancient Celtic celebration that was held in Ireland and other Celtic countries.
Easter Sunday is the day when the church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Food-wise, it is celebrated with great feasting and special foods.
On this day in 1755, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was born in France. He wrote the first book about the pleasures of food, published in 1825.
December 1st is Eat a Red Apple Day. This is a good day to make it a point to have a red apple! The stores are still bursting with apples, fresh from the harvest.
Moving Day is a national tradition in Québec, where today is called the Jour du déménagement. By custom, leases in Québec go from 1 July to 30 June.
Men Make Dinner Day is celebrated on the first Thursday of every November. Gals, make sure notice of this gets spread around in plenty of time, so there's no excuses.
The 1st of February is St Brigid's Day. St Brigid is the patron saint of dairy in Ireland. Fresh butter would be churned, and some set on a window sill for her.
Groundhog Day is the 2nd of February. If a groundhog sees its shadow on this day, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it does not, spring will be early.
With the distraction of Hallowe'en at the end of October, Devilled Egg Day, on the 2nd of November, catches many people unprepared for it.
Carob may look like chocolate and be marketed like chocolate, but one taste and you know the old saying is true: sometimes beauty really is only skin deep.
This is All Souls Day in Mexico, the second day of Día de los Muertos. This day focusses on dead adults who may have returned to visit.
The 2nd of December is St Bibiana's Day. St Bibiana, aka Saint Viviana, is the Patron Saint of Drunks and Hangovers — even if accidentally.There is a church named after her in Rome, where she is buried.
The date for Easter Monday varies wildly every year. It is the Monday immediately after Easter Sunday.
The 2nd of January is the Feast Day of St Macarius of Alexandria, who has been dubbed St Macaroon, owing to his name and his association with pastry chefs.
December 2nd is Fritters Day. What's not to like about fritters? They are small cakes of dough fried up in butter or oil, and can be savoury or sweet.
Hare Pie Day takes place in Hallaton, Leicestershire on Easter Monday. Originally pie made of hare was distributed, but now it's beef pie, followed by a beer keg contest.
The 2nd of January is National Buffet Day. Give yourself a break from all the cooking you've been doing, and have one last splurge before the New Year dieting begins in earnest.
The 2nd of May is Truffles Day, celebrating the kind of truffles that are like mushrooms. You could plan a meal around them, or buy a bottle of truffle-flavoured oil.
All Soul's Day was started in the 900s by the Church, being designated as the day on which you can help those in purgatory with your prayers.
Lammas is an Irish holiday that follows the day after Lughnasadh. While Lughnasadh was merry-making, on Lammas thanks would be given for the coming grain harvest by prayers and offerings of bread.
Candlemas originally marked the day in the Bible when Mary went into the temple in Jerusalem to be purified with her newborn son. In France, crêpes are eaten after 8 pm in the evening.
December 3rd is "Make A Gift Day". This is a day to set aside to make a homemade gifts for the upcoming holidays.
Carrot Day at last, and there are so many ways to celebrate it! A bag of crunchy baby carrots for lunch, a side-salad of grated carrot and raisin salad!
The challenge for today, National Egg Day is to make a meal around eggs. Breakfast if you want, but higher points are awarded to those who make eggs the main course for dinner!
The 3rd of January is J.R.R. Tolkien Day, celebrating the author of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. The key point is a toast to the Professor done at 9 p.m.
November 3rd is the birthday of the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Popular myth credits him with having invented the sandwich.
The 3rd of February in Japan is Setsubun, a day marking the end of winter, and the start of spring. Roasted soybeans are thrown to chase away evil spirits and bring good luck.
The Doll Festival is an unofficial, fun holiday in Japan, mostly for small girls. Girls arrange their collection of dolls for proud display on tiered stands in their living rooms.
Easter Tuesday is the day after Easter Monday. There are several rituals involving food, candies and treats in many parts of Europe.
The 4th of August is the day to celebrate all things chocolate chip. The classic item of course is chocolate chip cookies, followed closely by chocolate chip muffins.
The 4th of March is Pound Cake Day. If the day has crept up on you caught you unawares so that you don't have time to make one, you could always sneak out to the grocery store.
The 4th of January is Spaghetti Day. Enjoy a bowl of spaghetti today; meatballs or no meatballs, homemade or made by your favourite restaurant, it's your choice!
Who doesn't like stuffed mushrooms? Treat yourself, your family and / or friends to stuffed mushrooms today.
December 4th is Cookie Day. You can make or buy cookies, and enjoy them yourself, or gift them to a friend or co-workers. But be sure to treat yourself today!
Vodka Day is the 4th of October. Today might be a good day to enjoy a cold, clear vodka martini. Or are you more a vodka and orange juice kind of person?
American Independence Day celebrates the birth of the U.S. While some countries celebrate their big day with military parades, the US celebrates it with food. Everywhere there will be hot dogs, picnics, salads, barbeques, brownies.
The Goose Fair is held in Nottingham, England, every year in October. It's opened by the mayor of Nottingham who gets to ring silver bells to mark the opening, and lasts for 3 days.
Both Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Bucyrus, Ohio, hold Bratwurst Festival Days in August. In each locale, how the bratwurst is traditionally served differs.
Taco Day is the 4th of October. Have a taco party for family, friends and neighbours, with everyone assembling his or her own tacos.
On this day in 1608, John Tradescant the younger was born in England. He and his father introduced to Europe many food plants we now take for granted.
The 4th of February is the birthday of the celebrity chef Alexis Soyer, born in 1810.
The 4th of November is Mustard Day. There are so many different kinds of mustard, that it's a rare person indeed who doesn't like at least one of them.
Pretzel Sunday is observed on 4th Sunday before Easter in Luxembourg, where it's called Bretzelsonndeg. A boy can offer a pretzel to a girl he fancies.
On Guy Fawkes Day, an effigy of Guy Fawkes is burnt in a bonfire, and the fire is put to good use for food purposes as well, such as baking potatoes.
The 5th of June is Gingerbread Day. Gingerbread is perhaps more traditional at Christmas or during the winter, when the warming effects of the spicy ginger might be most appreciated.
The evening of the 5th of January is Twelfth Night. Though now we cram all of Christmas into one day, traditionally, people thought of Christmas as being a 12 day festival.
The 5th of January is Whipped Cream Day! It celebrates the birth of the inventor of Reddi-Wip, the aerosol spray cream in a can.
December 5th is the birthday of Constance Spry. Constance Spry was an English food writer and co-principal of the Cordon Bleu School of Cookery in London. She created one of the most famous recipes in English cuisine: Coronation Chicken.
The 5th of May commemorates a Mexican victory over the French army in 1862 at the Battle of Puebla.
A Root Beer Float is a classic North American summer drink. It's a big, thick frosty mug of Root Beer with a big, creamy head of suds on it and ice cream in it.
The 6th of January is Shortbread Day! This could be a good day to dispose of the last of the Christmas Shortbread still hanging around by unloading it on friends and neighbours, or by cramming it into the lunchboxes of your unsuspecting loved ones.
The 6th of January is Bean Day. If you're in a rush today, you could mark Bean Day by having some plain but honourable baked beans from your favourite tin on toast
In the Netherlands, St Nicholas goes house to house in the early hours of the 6th of December, leaving gifts in children's shoes. In return, they leave hay and carrots for his horse.
Carnation Evaporated Milk first rolled off the production line in Kent, Washington State, USA on this day, 6th September, in 1899.
December 6th is Microwave Oven Day. When's the last time you used your microwave for cooking, as opposed to just reheating?
The 6th of January is Epiphany. Epiphany marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas.
The 6th of March is Frozen Food Day; in fact, all of March is Frozen Food Month.
The 6th of December is Gazpacho Day. Perhaps not the best time for a fresh tomato soup for people living in the northern hemisphere, but tomatoes will just be coming into season in the south. And remember, gazpacho doesn't have to be based on tomatoes...
It's a myth that nachos weren't invented in Mexico. They actually were -- just across the border with Texas in a Mexican town called Piedras Negras.
The 7th of April is the birthday of William Keith Kellogg, the inventor of Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and other famous breakfast cereals.
The 7th of January commemorates the 1896 publication of the Boston Cooking School Cookbook, now simply referred to as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook after its author.
The 7th of July is Chocolate Day: a good day on which to celebrate your life-long love affair with chocolate.
The 17th of April is a good day to learn what Coffee Cake actually is — and treat yourself and a friend to a slice while you're at it.
Today is reputedly the day on which to enjoy a Crown Roast of Pork.
December 7th is Candy Floss Day. Candy floss in the lead up to Christmas? Why not? After all, with sugar, food dye and artificial flavouring, why wouldn't it fit right in!
The 7th of February is a good day to blow up the myths about Fettuccine Alfredo. Its famous sauce is actually a by-product of cooking the pasta! Treat yourself to some today!
In this day and age, thanks to exports and cargo jets criss-crossing the globe, it's possible to get raspberries at any time of year. But around this time in the northern hemisphere, raspberry season is at its peak.
The 7th of May is Roasted Leg of Lamb Day. You could spit-roast one on your backyard grill, or use today as an excuse to fire up the oven and have an all-out roast dinner.
The Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show is held the first Tuesday of every August (between 1st and 7th August) at Egton Bridge, North Yorkshire, England. The show is both an exhibition and a contest.
Passover is a Jewish holiday. Special foods are served to symbolize the slavery of the Jews in Egypt and their escape from it.
The 8th of December is Brownie Day. Brownies are relatively easy to make and as such, they are a good way to get yourself inspired for the serious baking that lays ahead in the next few weeks.
Thanksgiving in Canada is now a long-weekend food festival to celebrate the harvest. It is largely secular and celebrated by people of most faiths and cultural origins.
The 8th of January is the birthday of the American singer, Elvis Presley. He shot to fame at a young age, and later in life, he became equally famous for his love of Southern US food — and lots of it.
On this day, 8th June, in 1784, a boy named Marie-Antoine Carême was born. He would become the world's first celebrity chef, and codify French cooking in a way that still serves as a foundation today for European cooking.
The 8th of January is English Toffee Day. There are many different flavours now. You could make some or support a local candy maker by buying some from them.
Medard of Noyon is the Patron Saint of brewers and good harvests. Farm workers would be grateful for any help they could get in an era when rain at the wrong time could ruin vital food for the coming winter.
Pontefract Liquorice Festival is held each year in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England. The festival celebrates liquorice because Pontefract, the home of Pomfret Cakes, has long been associated with the production of liquorice.
January 9th is Apricot Day. Treat yourself to a fresh apricot, or some apricot products such as apricot jam, canned apricots, or dried apricots.
The 9th of February is a day for bagels, cream cheese and cured salmon slices.
Barbie Millicent Roberts was born on this day in 1959. Well, perhaps not born, but she had her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York City.
The 9th of March marks the end of the Pastry War in 1838 between Mexico and France. Treat yourself to a pastry!
Sugar Cookie Day is the 9th of July. When's the last time you had a simple, plain old sugar cookie, crisp on the edges, tender in the middle?
Today celebrates the invention of the world's first homemade ice cream machine. It operated on the principle of salted ice drawing the warmth out of a cream mixture to freeze it: many home ice cream makers today still draw on the same principle, though they are electrified now.
The 9th of June is St Columba's Day. Among St Columba's food dealings were changing water into wine, causing water to come out of a rock, making a herd of cows increase miraculously, and exorcising a demon from a pail of milk.
The 9th of December is Pastry Day. It's okay if you don't have a sweet tooth, even quiche counts as a pastry! And remember, Italians actually have pastry for breakfast!
On this day in 1953, the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas expired in New York City. The popular legend is that he drank himself to death.