The Eating Man

 

National Bagel Day 2024

If there's a commonly munched-on food that deserves its own special day, the bagel certainly qualifies. And that day of celebration, National Bagel Day, arrives Monday, Jan. 15.
Let's give the doughy circular delicacy its due. Admittedly, we have made-up holidays devoted to other favorite foods such as National Taco Day, National Hamburger Day, and National Mac and Cheese Day But none of those foods has the legacy that bagels do.
One food that might be able to challenge the bagel is pizza, which became popular in the 19th century, according to History.com, but the word "pizza" likely arose centuries earlier. Perhaps that's why there's a National Pizza Week, which runs Sunday, Jan. 14, to Saturday, Jan. 20, and a National Pizza Day on Feb. 9.
A brief look at the history of the bagel

The bagel originated in 13th century in what is now Poland, according to National Geographic, which credits the history to Maria Balinska, author of "The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread." Jewish bakers made larger ring-shaped boiled breads, then transitioned to a smaller single serving bread known as the "bajgiel" in Polish and "beygal" in Yiddish.
Bagels came to the U.S. as a food with European Jews who began immigrating in the 19th century. By the mid-60s, bagels were the "fastest-drawing bun in the yeast," the New York Daily News reported in 1965, National Geographic says.