Or, it was. And, yes, it’s a thing. Our local ice cream place has hosted an event for International Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day for the last three years. It’s seems to still be a small thing, though, so if you missed it, I won’t tell if you have a slightly delayed celebration.
The story is that it’s cold and dark and dull in the Northern Hemisphere, post-Christmas and pre-daffodils. So, someone declared a fun holiday right in the middle of it. There’s a long tradition of marking this point in the year: Imbolc, the pagan Gaelic festival celebrating pregnant sheep and thus the return of fresh milk;
Candlemas, the Christian celebration of the presentation of the infant Jesus at the Temple; and Groundhog Day, the American tradition of predicting the arrival of spring based on the skittish reactions of a sleepy rodent.
There were waffles under our ice cream, but the chocolate syrup and mini Oreos probably tipped things more firmly toward the “ridiculously sugary.”
Not that there was any complaint.
If we celebrate Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day next year, I think we might skip the arcade games, the ice-cream-themed haiku writing, and the Brain Freeze ice cream speed eating contest (although Caitlyn put in a solid performance in the Under 12 bracket). I’m thinking ice cream would go nicely on top of any number of breakfast items (pancakes, coffeecake, brioche, French toast (baked or griddled), bread pudding, possibly even oatmeal). Yep, I think this might work.
Now, who thinks we should turn it into a social brunch potluck thing?