Waffle Day
{{Short description|Annual tradition in Sweden, Norway and Denmark}}
Waffle Day ({{langx|sv|våffeldagen}} {{IPA|sv|ˈvɔ̂fːɛlˌdɑːɡɛn|}}, {{langx|no|vaffeldagen}}, {{langx|da|vaffeldag}}) is a tradition that is celebrated in Sweden, Norway and Denmark on 25 March, which is also the Feast of the Annunciation,{{Cite book|title=Explorations in the sociology of language and religion|last=Omoniyi|first=Tope|date=2006|publisher=J. Benjamins|others=Fishman, Joshua A.|isbn=9027227101|location=Amsterdam|pages=253|oclc=427506747}} upon which waffles are typically eaten. The shift from the religious celebration to Waffle Day occurred because the Swedish Vårfrudagen, meaning "Our Lady's Day" or "the Day of our Lady" (the Feast of the Annunciation), sounds similar to våffeldagen ("waffle day") in faster speech, and so over time Swedes began calling it Waffle Day and celebrating by eating waffles.{{Cite book|title=Food, feasts, and faith : an encyclopedia of food culture in world religions|last=Fieldhouse|first=Paul|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2017|isbn=9781610694117|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=35|oclc=959260516}}{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofea0000gule/page/8|title=Encyclopedia of Easter, Carnival, and Lent|last=Gulevich|first=Tanya|publisher=Omnigraphics|year=2002|isbn=0780804325|location=Detroit|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofea0000gule/page/8 8]|oclc=48163449|url-access=registration}}
Waffle Day has recently begun to be celebrated in other countries as well, often ushered in by restaurants and cafés specialising in waffles, as in India, where the Belgian Waffle Co. in 2018 declared that they would celebrate National Waffle Day in July,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mumbailive.com/en/food-drinks/mumbai-food-national-waffle-day-sweet-binge-on-your-favourite-waffles-at-just-100-25992|title=National Waffle Day: Sweet binge on your favourite waffles at just ₹100!|website=Mumbai Live|date=17 July 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-01-30}} or in Norway, where Waffle Day was all but unknown until producers of waffle irons, milk and flour started to promote waffle day in the mid-2010s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.opdalingen.no/matauk/2016/03/24/Vaffeldag-til-%C3%A6re-for-Marias-graviditet-12504402.ece|title=Vaffeldag til ære for Marias graviditet|last=Aasheim|first=Tore|date=2016-03-24|website=opdalingen.no|language=nb|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-01-30}} In the United States, National Waffle Day is celebrated in August to commemorate the date of a U.S. patent on a waffle iron;{{Cite book |title=The Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America |date=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|author=Smith, Andrew F. |isbn=9780199734962|edition=2nd|location=New York, New York |pages=554|oclc=781555950}} however the celebration is described as "at best a 'bizarre' or 'unique' holiday – the fluff stuff of radio DJ commentary",{{Cite web|url=https://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=19|title=The Waffle Day Controversy|website=MrBreakfast.com|access-date=2019-01-30}} a frequent criticism of food celebration days. Some people love the occasion and think of it as a real festival whereas others don't really like or understand it.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/22/tripe-day-waffle-day-nutella-day-when-did-food-get-so-needy-jay-rayner|title=Tripe Day, Waffle Day, Nutella Day – when did food get so needy?|last=Rayner|first=Jay|date=2018-02-22|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-01-30|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} But this tradition is getting popular!