About National Bagel Day
Bagels are round rolls with a hole in the middle and made from chewy, dense dough.
Historically, National Bagel Day was celebrated on February 9th, which happens to be the same day as National Pizza Day. But thanks to an initiative started by Thomas’ Breads in 2014, bagels now have a day of their very own on January 15th.
Bagels have earned their day in the spotlight, with the chewy circular bread first debuting in 1610 in Krakow, Poland. Eastern European Jewish immigrants introduced bagels to the U.S. in the 19th and 20th centuries.
With thousands of Jewish immigrants settling in New York, particularly Manhattan's Lower East Side, the bagel soon became a common sight around the city, and hundreds of small bagel bakeries were set up, and it is the New York-style bagel that is now the most famous around the world. They even had their own union until the 1960s - Bagel Bakers Local 338.
Bagels continue to be a popular breakfast staple, with more than 200 million bagels sold in the U.S. each year alone.
