What is National Sundae Day?
National Sundae Day falls on November 11. Sweet! Desserts don’t get much more decadent than marshmallow, chocolate, or strawberry sundaes so let’s enjoy every minute of this day. You can visit a fun local ice cream shop or simply whip one up at home. It’s a treat either way. Of course anything ice cream-related seems to brighten things up, but this one’s especially enjoyable.
History of National Sundae Day
Just who invented the ice cream sundae? Good question. Many claim credit. Here’s a quick glance at a trio of theories ranked from earliest to most recent.:
Sundaes first appeared around 1881 in the town of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, when a man named George Hallauer asked his friend Edward C. Berner, the owner of a soda fountain, topped a dish of ice cream with chocolate sauce modeled after ice cream sodas. The magnificent creation only cost a nickel and skyrocketed in popularity, but was sold only on Sundays.
A Plainfield, Illinois, druggist named Mr. Sonntag created the dish in 1890 after customers requested something different. He named it the “sonntag” after himself, and since Sonntag means Sunday in German, the name was translated to Sunday, and later was spelled sundae.
John M. Scott, a minister, and Chester Platt, co-owner of a pharmacy, created the first sundae on April 3, 1892 (a Sunday), in Ithaca, New York, Platt covered dishes of ice cream with cherry syrup and candied cherries. The men named the dish “Cherry Sunday.”. Historians found a newspaper ad for a “Cherry Sunday” placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal three days later. By May 1892, the Platt & Colt soda fountain also served “Strawberry Sundays,” and later, “Chocolate Sundays”.
Either way, 130 years later, they’re quite a treat!
