National Pizza Day on February 9 is one of the most popular food holidays in the United States. It’s marked on every “National Day” calendar, celebrated by pizzerias and food media across the country. But if you try to find out why we celebrate it on that specific date, you hit a wall. There’s no presidential proclamation, no congressional record. Its origins have simply vanished. As an Italian pizza blogger fascinated by American pizza culture, I found the lack of a clear answer perplexing. So, I decided to look into it.
In fact, there’s no clear “first mention” of National Pizza Day. It appeared one day, people liked it, and it stuck. Major calendars like the National Day Calendar have a page for it, but even they admit the trail goes cold. On their site, they state they are “still researching the origins” of the day and that “the mystery remains.”
The oldest online mention I could find was a post from April 25, 2007, on a social network called myLot, where a user mentioned a “National Pizza Day” on May 1. That reference itself seems to point to a nationwide Pizza Hut marketing campaign from that era, the “Free Slice of Pizza Day,” which was indeed held on May 1 in various years (like 2019, as reported by PMQ Pizza Magazine).
The Super Bowl Theory
A possible theory could be that National Pizza Day is linked to America’s biggest sporting event: the Super Bowl. For years now, the Super Bowl has been scheduled for the second Sunday in February. In 2025, that Sunday fell precisely on February 9.
The connection goes beyond the calendar. The Super Bowl is arguably the biggest day of the year for pizzerias in the US. Sales can skyrocket to 5 times a normal weekend’s volume. Major chains like Domino’s and Pizza Hut see up to a 50% sales increase, fueled by special deals on pizza, wings, and combo meals. Demand spikes even higher in the home states of the two competing teams. Then there’s the tailgating tradition. The rise of portable pizza ovens has made pizza a tailgate staple, either cooked on-site in stadium parking lots or ordered from local pizzerias to feed a crowd.
Historically, the Super Bowl was held in late January. It shifted to early February in 2004 and then settled on the second Sunday of February starting in 2022. A fixed date like February 9 naturally falls within this two-week window and has consistently landed close to the big game.
But if the link is so strong, why wouldn’t the pizza industry have made “National Pizza Day” movable, aligning it directly with Super Bowl Sunday? One likely reason is that another snack beat them to it: the National Pork Rind Appreciation Day was officially registered in 2011 by Rudolph Foods, permanently tying itself to the event.
From a Day to a Month: The Other Pizza Holidays
If you think February 9 is the only pizza celebration, you’ve barely scratched the surface. The US has a National Pizza Week (the second full week of January) and, more importantly, a National Pizza Month in October.
The Month’s origins are the only ones set in stone. It was created in 1984 by Gerry Durnell, founder of Pizza Today magazine. Durnell, a pizzeria owner from Santa Claus, Indiana, launched his industry publication in October, declaring it National Pizza Month. Pizza Today claims Congress officially recognized it in 1987, though a formal record is hard to find. Regardless, it’s now an institution.
But the list doesn’t stop there. The national calendar is packed with pizza-themed holidays, many focusing on specific styles or toppings, showcasing the country’s regional pizza diversity. This is the most exhaustive list I could assemble:
- National Pi Day (March 14): A math pun (3.14 = March 14) where “pi” sounds like “pie.”
- National Deep Dish Pizza Day (April 5)
- National Pizza Party Day (Third Friday of May)
- National Detroit-Style Pizza Day (June 23)
- National Hawaiian Pizza Day (August 20)
- National Cheese Pizza Day (September 5)
- National Pepperoni Pizza Day (September 20)
- International Beer and Pizza Day (October 9)
- National Sausage Pizza Day (October 11)
- National Tavern Style Pizza Day (October 22)
- World Pizza Makers Day (October 25)
- National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day (November 12)
The true origin of February 9 may still be a mystery. But my research left me with one undeniable conclusion: when Americans say that every day is pizza day… they mean it!
[This is an AI-assisted adaptation of the original Italian article]
