This blog post was updated on July 26, 2021.
If you’ve ever enjoyed the deliciousness that is waffles, then congratulations — you have working taste buds. And if you’re a waffle lover, then you need to know about what will probably be your new favorite holiday — Sweden’s Waffle Day.
Yes, Sweden, a very real country, celebrates waffle day, a very real holiday. Supposedly, the story goes, that after Christianity came to the Scandinavian country, there was a bit of a mix up when it came to the translation of a major religious holiday. It seems that when translated into the Swedish, the Annunciation – the Christian celebration of when Jesus’ mother Mary was told that she was pregnant – originally came out as “Vårfrudagen” and sounded a lot like “Våffeldagen” to the locals. And “Våffeldagen,” translates to “Waffle Day”…and thus a national tradition was born.
Yes, Swedes thought the name for a major Christian holiday sounded like “Waffle Day” when translated to their language and said, “Yeah, that sounds like good idea.” AND JUST WENT WITH IT!
So now, every March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas (Get it?), Swedes gather around and make waffles. Yep, that’s it. That’s the entire holiday. Now, even though the traditional Swedish waffle recipe is yeast and baking powder free (giving it a lighter, crisper texture), the idea of celebrating the tastiness of waffles on March 25th has spread to other countries and it is now sometimes called “International Waffle Day” and celebrated by the bastion of breakfast confectionary, IHOP.
If you’re interested in taking part in the glorious Waffle Day tradition, merely contact your local Swedish community organization and ask what, if any plans, they have for the day. If you find yourself in Sweden, all you have to do it find the nearest café, any cafe, and order some waffles. Trust us, they’re delightful.
But you should be aware that the United States celebrates its own separate waffle day. America’s National Waffle Day goes down on August 24 and commemorates the day that one Cornelius Swartwout was awarded the first U.S. patent for a waffle iron.
Although, in a testament to the great negligence of Americans, it’s nowhere near as observed like the one by Swedes.
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