Buffet table. Andrea Egger / Pixabay.com / 2010 / CC0 1.0
What’s happening when and where in the world of food: a calendar of 700 special food-related days. Celebrate these food holidays with suggested activities and recipes, learn about the history, literature and lore behind these delicious days and explore the links for further learning! Many of the food calendar days also contain additional links to resource kits.
See also: Food Holidays: Where Are They All Coming From?
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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.
On the 1st of April in 1755, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was born in France. He wrote the first book about the pleasures of food, and is considered the father of gastronomy.
The 2nd of April is Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. It's a very easy holiday to celebrate, because you just have to make a sandwich! But you can push the boat out and try some of the variations we suggest...
The 2nd of April is Carob Bean Day. 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.
April 3rd is Jennifer Patterson's birthday. She was expelled from convent school and fired as a food writer for throwing dishes out an office window, but her claim to fame really arrived when she appeared on TV screens in 1996 as one-half of the Two Fat Ladies.
Carling Sunday, otherwise known as Passion Sunday, is celebrated in Scotland and in northern England on the fifth Sunday in Lent, two Sundays from Easter. Boiled, fried dried peas known as "carlings" are served.
The 4th of April is Cordon Bleu Day. Treat yourself to this delectable dish of coated, fried chicken stuffed with ham and cheese.
The 5th of April is Caramel Day. Celebrate by treating yourself to caramel in some form, as a candy or perhaps as a sauce.
The 6th of April is Fresh Tomato Day. We've got some tasty ideas for enjoying tomatoes in their fresh form on this day.
The 7th 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.
Burrito Day is the first Thursday of April. Treat yourself to one today. There are probably lots of special offers today!
The 7th of April is National Beer Day. It celebrates the day in 1933 when the sale of beer was allowed again in the United States.
The 7th of April is the birthday of William Keith Kellogg, the inventor of Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and other famous breakfast cereals.
The 8th of April is Empanada Day. Treat yourself to some from a food truck, or buy frozen, or have some friends over to make some.
The 8th of April, 1879 reputedly marks the date that milk was first delivered to customers at home in glass bottles. Many people feel it would be better for the environment if we went back to glass bottles for milk.
The 9th of April is National Gin & Tonic Day in the U.S. You can join in wherever you are in the world. You could designate this your first G&T of the summer!
The 9th of April is the birthday of English food writer, Nigel Slater. He promotes comfort food. A movie has been made about his life, "Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger".
Bananas made their London Debut on 10 April 1633 in a shop window. It was the shop window of shopkeeper Thomas Johnson, who had a herbalist shop on Snow Hill in the neighbourhood still called Holborn.
Palm Sunday marks the day when Jesus reputedly was greeted by people waving palm branches in Jerusalem. Palm fronds are now traditional, but in the days before international shipping, people would use pussy willow branches or wild flowers instead.
The 11th of April is Cheese Fondue Day. Finally, a holiday to celebrate stale bread and melted cheese! When's the last time you had a cheese fondue?
The 12th of April is Grilled Cheese Day — the day to celebrate grilled cheese sandwiches! We've got some great ideas to turn today into a party — or take your grilled cheese sandwiches to next-level gourmet!
The 12th of April is Liquorice Day, a day is designed to promote true liquorice. If you don't have a sweet tooth, remember there are liquorice-flavoured adult beverages such as Anissette, Herbsaint, Pastis, Sambuca, etc.
The 12th of April is the start of Cerealia. It was a Roman festival celebrated for many centuries to honour Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, grain and the harvest. It has been revived in modern times.
Catherine de Medici became Queen of France. The 13th of April is her birthday. She is credited with many food innovations — but how much of that is true?
Maundy Thursday is the Thursday immediately before Easter. There are many associated food customs including bitter herbs, chestnuts, and ale.
The 14th of April is the day to treat yourself to a piece of pecan pie, and learn all about pecans.
The 15th of April is Glazed Ham Day. You usually only get to glaze a ham on high holidays such as Christmas and Easter, when the pressure is on.
Good Friday is a solemn day in the Christian calendar. In English culture, hot cross buns and dish were traditional, and eggs laid on this day had special properties.
The 15th of April is the birthday of Marcella Hazan. Her goal was to teach Americans about authentic Italian food. Her favourite tipple, though, was not wine, but rather Jack Daniel's!
On the 15th of April 1912, the Titanic sunk. The Titanic almost seems like it was one big floating restaurant.
Passover is a Jewish holiday. Special foods are served to symbolize the slavery of the Jews in Egypt and their escape from it.
The Third Saturday in April is celebrated as Damson Day in the Lyth Valley in Cumbria, England.
The 16th of April is Eggs Benedict Day. This breakfast dish is a real treat, so go ahead and treat yourself today!
Many foodies hate cheeseballs, regarding them as very tacky! But the 17th of April is a day to celebrate these concoctions in all their "cheesiness"!
The 17th of April is World Malbec Day, to celebrate Malbec wine. It's a full-bodied red wine, with a smooth and bold taste. 75% of the Malbec wine in the world comes from Argentina.
Easter Sunday is celebrated with great feasting and special foods, including lamb, chocolate and special breads.
The 18th of April is Animal Crackers Day. It's a day to celebrate the small, slightly-sweetened crackers baked in the shapes of animals.
Hare Pie Day takes place in Hallaton, Leicestershire on Easter Monday. Originally pie actually made of hare was distributed, but now it's beef pie. After a pie ceremony, there is a beer keg contest.
Easter Monday food traditions include egg rolling, hare pies, and spring picnics. The date changes each year.
The 19th of April is Garlic Day. Don't worry about your breath today; no one will notice because everyone else will be eating it too — apparently.
On Easter Tuesday, there are several rituals involving food, candies and treats in many parts of Europe.
The Peppercorn Ceremony is held in St George, Bermuda on the Wednesday nearest St George's Day in April. To celebrate, enjoy some freshly-ground pepper from peppercorns, or include whole peppercorns in a recipe.
The 20th of April is the anniversary of the first pasteurization test in 1862. We now rely upon pasteurization to make milk safe, and to give it a longer storage life.
The 20th of April is Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day. When's the last time you had some? Few homemade cakes are as spectacular as this one is.
The 21st of April is the birthday of the city of Rome. It is an ancient holiday, celebrated for thousands of years, and marked with great festivities and feasting.
National Tea Day in the UK is the 21st of April. It is a tea celebration designed to help revive sales of tea in the UK.
The 22nd of April is Jelly Bean Day. This is the biggest selling time of the year for jelly beans.
The 23rd of April is William Shakespeare's birthday. The works of Shakespeare are full of food and drink.
The 23rd of April celebrates the Bavarian Beer Purity Law. The law governs what ingredients can be used for beer made in Germany. There are only 4 ingredients allowed.
St George is the Patron saint of England. St George's mushrooms start to appear on this day in England.
The Vinalia urbana (urban wine festival) on the 23rd of April was the Roman 'Beaujolais Nouveau' festival of its era. It's when the first of last year's wine production was officially cracked open.
The 24th of April is Pigs-In-A-Blanket day. What's your definition, and are you a fan?
April 25th is Anzac Day, a solemn day jointly shared by Australia and New Zealand. Anzac is short for Australian (and) New Zealand Army Corps.
26th April is Pretzel Day. What's your favourite pretzel? Soft ones or the hard, crunchy ones?
The 27th of April is St Zita's Day. She is the patron saint of bakers, because angels reputedly baked bread for her.
Floralia was a Roman festival to honour the goddess of flowers, Flora. It was held from the 28th of April to the 3rd of May.
The 28th of April is Cracker Day. And fair enough. The lowly, crunchy, work-horse cracker doesn't often get much attention.
The 28th of April is Stop Food Waste Day. Food waste hurts the environment and the economy. A lot of home food waste comes from a lack of education and skills. We can all learn tips to improve!
The 29th of April is Cherry Blossom Day in Japan. To the Japanese, viewing cherry trees in blossom is a much-loved spring activity.
The 29th of April is Shrimp Scampi Day: A day to enjoy large shrimp (aka prawns) sautéed briefly with a bit of garlic and wine.
Béaltaine, on the 30th April, marked the start of summer in the Celtic calendar. People leapt through fires, and made special foods. It was the best time of the year to try to see a faery.
On the 30th of April 1859, Charles Dickens published the Tale of Two Cities. The book provides a sobering look at the diets of the poor at the end of the 1700s.
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| February | June | October |
| March | July | November |
| April | August | December |