Ice Cream for Breakfast Day

A bowl of ice cream offered for free by an ice cream vendor in celebration of Ice Cream for Breakfast Day 2014

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day is a holiday celebrated the first Saturday in February.

History

The holiday was invented on a snowy winter day in the 1960s by Florence Rappaport in Rochester, New York.^[1] The mother to six children, it was her youngest two, Ruth (now Kramer) and Joe Rappaport, who inspired her on a cold and snowy February morning. To entertain them, she declared it to be Ice Cream For Breakfast Day. She explained, "It was cold and snowy and the kids were complaining that it was too cold to do anything. So I just said, 'Let's have ice cream for breakfast.'"^[2] The next year, they reminded her of the day and a tradition began. The exact year of the first ICFBD is unrecorded, but it is speculated to be 1966, when a huge blizzard hit Rochester in late January, dumping several feet of snow on Rochester and shutting down schools.^[3] When the siblings grew up, they held parties and introduced the tradition to friends while in college, and the tradition began to spread.^[4]

A global holiday

The holiday began to spread across the world thanks to Florence's grandchildren, who have traveled extensively. Celebrations have been recorded in Nepal, Namibia, Germany, New Zealand and Honduras.^[5] Some are small family celebrations and others are larger parties. The holiday has even been celebrated in China since 2003 and was featured in the Chinese edition of Cosmopolitan magazine and local magazines in Hangzhou, China.^[6] Ice Cream for Breakfast Day enjoys particular popularity in Israel. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on ICFBD in 2013 in Hebrew ^[7] and then in 2014 in English ^[8]

How people celebrate

Ice Cream For Breakfast Day is officially celebrated on the first Saturday of February. The holiday is often explained very simply: 1. Eat ice cream, 2. For breakfast. 3. On the first Saturday in February (or any weekend morning in the depths of winter).^[9] However, celebrations are also held throughout the month.

Charity events

Florence Rappaport and her children never imagined how far their made-up holiday's influence would spread. In recent years, several ice cream shops around the United States have started to use Ice Cream for Breakfast Day as a fundraising event for charity organizations.^{[10][11][12][13]}

References