Maybe it is just my little blond brain, but National Banana Bread Day (February 23) totally snuck up on me this year. Did that happen to you, too? All I have is one lonely overripe banana sitting in my fruit bowl. I can’t even make a proper banana bread to celebrate. Bummer.
Infinitely more irritating, I missed National Margarita Day (February 22) .
And, don’t even get me started on the fact that I missed National Potato Lover’s Day ( February 8th). No respectable McGee (April 18) can be forgiven for that gaffe.
So who designates national food days, anyway?
As with most things in our system, the legwork is done by lobbyists. (That said, I’m surprised we don’t celebrate “Hug a Lobbyist Day.” If I may make a suggestion, April 1 would be a good day to celebrate the ways lobbyists enrich our lives.)
The President and the Congress have a role in making national food days happen, too. There are two routes to National “Fooddom:” Congress passes a joint resolution and the President signs it or the President simply proclaims a food day. Given the current ugliness on our political scene, one has to wonder whether partisan outrage sometimes spills over when the President decides to go rogue and use Executive Privilege to designate a food day.
After all, in today’s divided America, the red/blue divide reaches into the innermost reaches of our lives. Surely, a case can be made that there are “red” and “blue” foods. If you are having trouble believing that we could have politicized food, I would ask you to remember when some conservatives made fun of President Obama for his preference for Grey Poupon mustard over basic all-American yellow mustard on his burger. Talk radio’s Laura Ingraham said of the President’s mustard choice: “What kind of man orders a cheeseburger without ketchup but (with) Dijon mustard?” Whoa! Maybe it’s just me, but conflating the choice of mustard (National Mustard day, first Saturday in August) with the measure of one’s manhood seems a wee bit extreme.
Here is a list of designated food days for February.
You will note that someone with a demented sense of humor slipped in National Frog Legs Day on this year’s leap-year calendar (February 29). Where was Kermit’s lobbyist on that one?
February 1
National Cake Pops Day
National Baked Alaska Day
National Dark Chocolate Day
February 2
National Tater Tot Day
February 3
National Carrot Cake Day
February 4
National Homemade Soup Day
National Stuffed Mushroom Day
February 5
World Nutella Day
National Frozen Yogurt Day
February 6
National Chopstix Day
February 7
National Fettuccine Alfredo Day
February 8
National Molasses Bar Day
National Potato Lover’s Day
February 9
National Bagels and Lox Day
February 10
National Cream Cheese Brownie Day
National “Have a Brownie” Day
February 11
National Peppermint Patty Day
February 12
National Plum Pudding Day
National PB&J Day
February 13
National Tortellini Day
National “Italian Food” Day
February 14
National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day
February 15
National Gumdrop Day
National Chewing Gum Day
February 16
National Almond Day
February 17
National Indian Pudding Day
National Cafe’ Au Lait Day
February 18
National “Drink Wine” Day
February 19
National Chocolate Mint Day
February 20
National Muffin Day
(Originally, National Margarita Day, worry not, it’s now Feb 22nd)
February 21
National Sticky Bun Day
National Biscuits and Gravy Day
February 22
National Cook a Sweet Potato Day
National Margarita Day
National Cherry Pie Day
February 23
National Banana Bread Day
February 24
National Tortilla Chip Day
February 25
National Chocolate-Covered Peanuts Day
National Clam Chowder Day
February 26
National Pistachio Day
February 27
National Chili Day
National Strawberry Day
National Kahlua Day
February 28
National Chocolate Souffle Day
February 29
National Frog Legs Day
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