The plethora of strange food holidays has been utilized as an advertising tool by companies monitoring trends on the internet.

These holidays may start as a local tradition and eventually be recognized by the federal government. When they begin to trend on social media, fast-food chains, marketing teams, and magazines take advantage of the cash grab from these holidays by using them for promotions. The White House has been no stranger to taking part in this tradition. President Ronald Reagan created National Ice Cream Day on July 9, 1984, through a proclamation and referred to it as a “nutritious and wholesome food.” Ice cream shops across the country give out free scoops. He also declared National Frozen Food Day that same year. On June 25, 1987, the niche Catfish Day was born in the White House. However, these days are unofficial and move dates throughout the years.

National Donut Day, arguably the most well-known, originated from women known as “doughnut lassies” who went out on the front lines in WWI to provide soldiers with fresh donuts cooked in helmets. The Salvation Army in Chicago organized this practice and made this holiday in 1938 to remember their bravery.

To organize the rapidly increasing list, companies have been founded with the sole purpose of tracking them. Chase’s Calendar of Events, which has been in print since 1958, was founded as the number of random holidays (sometimes unrelated to food), kept growing. The following year, the U.S. Department of Commerce reached out to the company and requested that they acquire another organization- “Special Days, Weeks and Months.” Today, various websites keep track of the expanding list (like the site foodimentary).