Baked Alaska is one of our favorite desserts (photo Monkey Business | Dreamstime).
February 2006
Last Updated May 2025
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National Food Holidays: February
Including Valentine-Red Celebrations Like National Cherry Month & National Strawberry Day
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We tend to think of Valentine’s Day as “owning” February, but this list says otherwise. Don’t let one day of red satin candy boxes limit your celebration when there are month-long festivities like:
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For week-long celebrations, there are:
And then, there are the daily festivities. These dates vary according to the calendar:
These dates are the same every year:
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Celebrate the gumdrop on February 15th. Photo courtesy Farleys and Sathers.
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*Is it patty or pattie? Cadbury calls its product York Peppermint Pattie, but a pattie refers to a meat product. According to the dictionary, “patty” is more correct for the candy; the plural is patties.
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A berry nice holiday, February 27: National Strawberry Day. Photo courtesy California Strawberries.
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*Setsubun is the traditional Japanese holiday that marks the beginning of spring in Japan. It is held the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar. The name literally means “seasonal division.” One of the most popular customs on this day is to throw roasted soybeans at temples and shrines to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the new year. The tossing is done while shouting “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi” (Out with the demons, in with fortune). It's also a time for a particular type of sushi: ehomaki, an uncut sushi roll. The name means “lucky direction roll,” and it is eaten in silence while facing a lucky direction, which changes every year. Ingredients include up to seven “auspicious” ingredients that honor the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, for example, long, thin strips of kanpyō (dried calabash gourd) or kyuri (cucumber) for longevity. Tradition dictates that you make a wish for prosperity and happiness for the year and then eat ehomaki in complete silence, lest any luck escape your mouth. Here’s more about Setsubun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun.
**National Bagel Day is January 15th. National Bagels & Lox Day is February 9th. National Bagelfest Day is July 26th. In 2018, the Thomas’ English Muffin division of Bimbo Bakeries USA decided to move the date from February 9 to January 15 to avoid competing with National Pizza Day. However, this was a marketing decision of a single company and not an “official” holiday.
***February 9th is National Pizza Day. September 5th is National Cheese Pizza Day. September 20th is National Pepperoni Pizza. October is National Pizza Month. November 12th is National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day.
****On Fat Thursday, the week before Ash Wednesday, Catholics eat large amounts of sweets, cakes, and other foods that are not usually eaten during Lent. In Poland, pączki (donuts) and faworki (fried dough strips) are consumed, and it is considered bad luck not to eat pączki.
†There are also references to National Biscotti Day on September 29th.
††National Pancake Day is celebrated on multiple dates. The same holiday can be declared by different governments (federal, state, city) or by other authorities, e.g., a trade association or a marketing group. You can currently find citations for the second Tuesday in February. February 21st, February 28th, and September 26th. The original date seems to have been Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day in the U.K. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, observed in many Christian countries. Tradition indicates that celebrants eat pancakes and sweets before the beginning of Lent.
†††National Kombucha Day, a.k.a. National Booch Day, is January 15th.
‡January 21st is National New England Clam Chowder Day, a recipe with a cream base. Since there is no official Manhattan Clam Chowder Day (a tomato base), consider 2/25, the generic National Clam Chowder Day, a stand-in.
††††February 27th is The Big Breakfast Day. September is National Breakfast Month. April is National Brunch Month. There are 115 breakfast holidays. Check them out here.
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