Våffeldagen

Sunday was Våffeldagen, or Waffle Day, but I missed it because I didn't find out about it until Monday. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who missed out on eating waffles last weekend so I think we may celebrate this coming weekend.

Waffle Day is international but it started in Sweden. This is a great example of how a Catholic holiday got changed to a non-religious holiday (since Sweden gave up Catholicism long ago but will not give up any holidays). Waffle Day is on March 25th every year which is the feast of the Annunciation. This is when the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus exactly 9 months later on Christmas day.

So, how does the announcement of the birth of Jesus have anything to do with waffles? In Sweden, the Annunciation was also called Our Lady's Day, which is Vårfrudagen. Now, not knowing any Swedish but channeling the Swedish chef, you try to say "Vårfrudagen" out loud and now try Våffeldagen. Now, I'm sure it's crystal clear how the Annunciation became International Waffle Day. Pretty hilarious, isn't it?