National Taco Day
About National Taco Day
When is National Taco Day Celebrated: This holiday is always observed on October 4
Fans of Tex-Mex cuisine rejoice! Today is National Taco Day. On this October 4 holiday, we take a humble, u-shaped, hard corn shell and fill it with an endless variety of ingredients. Then, we top it off with a generous amount of taco sauce and munch down one, two, or three of them. If you are wondering how there could possibly be an endless variety of ingredients, consider the fact that there are over 20,000 recipes. So, there’s a perfect taco to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. Now, that’s a whole lot of variation.
Different cultures and different areas of the world, all have their ideas what ingredients should go into the perfect taco. Put a lot of veggies in them, and you have a healthy meal. On the other hand, it is not so good for you when you fry the shell and then load it with high-fat meats and cheeses. One person may choose to go the vegetarian route. Another person may select healthy fish tacos. There really isn’t any right or wrong combination of ingredients. As long as it tastes good to you, then you have the right ingredients. However, we do encourage you to try different ingredients from time to time. You may find an even better combination than your old standby.
The Date is in Contention
In 1973, a Tex-Mex restaurant in Rapid City, SD advertised “Taco Tuesday” in the Rapid City Journal. The term became widely popular. Nowadays, Taco Tuesday is every Tuesday at most Tex-Mex Restaurants.
Since its creation in 2009, National Taco Day has always been celebrated on October 4. In 2009, Del Taco Company created this holiday as a part of a marketing program. The company set the date as October 4. In case you are wondering, October 4, 2009 was a Sunday. Very recently, an effort started to change the date of the holiday to the first Tuesday in October. The reasoning behind the proposed change is to align the holiday with a Tuesday, commonly referred to as “Taco Tuesday”.
The controversy around the proposed date change centers around the term “Taco Tuesday”. Taco John restaurant chain owned the trademark to this slogan. The trademark was contested by Taco Bell. Ultimately, the company relinquished its ownership of the slogan. With other Tex-Mex venues now free to use the term, it led someone to propose changing the holiday to a Tuesday. And, most of the restaurants sell them at a sale price on Tuesdays.
The proposed change has not yet, and may never, take on widespread appeal. While we appreciate the logic of the proposed change, we believe only the creator of the holiday has the right to make a date change. So, at this point, we continue to support National Taco Day as an October 4 holiday.
BTW: We have sent correspondence to Del Taco to seek their input on this controversy. So, stay tuned.
Also, other countries celebrate this food favorite on other days of the year.
- Mexico celebrates Día del Taco on March 31. We know little about this day as most documentation is in Spanish.
- In France, Taco Day is held on July 31.
Trivia and Fun Facts
After you read this National Taco Day trivia and fun facts, show off your knowledge of this crunchy snack to your family and friends.
- Some form of tacos has been around since 1,500 B.C.
- They became popular in the United States in the early 1930s. Mexican migrants working on the railroads brought them here.
- Literally translated, the word “Taco” means “Plug” or “Wad”. Imagine someone saying: “Please pass the Wad sauce”!
- Depending upon how you make them and what you put into them, they are either very healthy or not so good for you.
- Most fans consume one or two every week.
- Americans consume over 4.5 billion tacos a year.
- Have them your way. According to the Mexican Department of Agriculture, there are over 20,000 taco recipes.
- At least one recipe calls for alligator meat. Another recipe calls for insect larva!
- Mexico’s Grand Velas Los Cabos resort sells the world’s most expensive taco. It costs $25,000.
- On March 8, 2023 the folks in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico prepared the world’s largest taco. It is now in the Guinness World Book of Records, weighing an amazing 1,654 pounds. 80 people helped to create it.
- In 1962, American entrepreneur Glenn Bell opened his first Taco Bell restaurant. At the opening they cost just $0.19. That’s right, nineteen cents. They now have over 6,000 stores all over the U.S.
How to Celebrate National Taco Day
Here are some ways to celebrate and enjoy this crunchy food holiday:
- Have a crunchy taco or two.
- What do you put into and on top of your tacos? We challenge you to try a new ingredient or topping.
- See how many you can eat today.
- Go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. You know what to order.
- Make them at home for dinner for the whole family.
- Hold a Tex-Mex party. Of course, Tacos are the featured item.
- Take pictures to share on social media.
- Restaurants have specials offering them at a reduced price.
.Ps Margaritas go well with tacos.
National Taco Day Quotes
“You don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. If you go to Taco Bell, that doesn’t make you a taco.” – – Justin Bieber
“If this country wants to elect someone with no political experience who is racially insensitive and golfs… In my first 100 days, I will make Taco Tuesday the law.” – – George Lopez
History and Origin of National Taco Day
In 2009, Del Taco Company created this holiday as part of a marketing effort. They selected October 4 to celebrate this food holiday. Without a doubt, they created this holiday to promote their brand of tacos, as well as their other Tex-Mex products. And, we are so glad that they did. Tacos have become popular in America for both appetizers as well as a main course food item.
Also, this holiday is supported by Roberto L. Gomez, founder of the National Taco Council. Gomez plays an important role in supporting and promoting this holiday.
We did not find any documentation confirming this to be a “National” day. In the United States, we found no congressional records or presidential proclamation for this holiday. So, it is not a true “National” day.
Definition of “National” Days – and why it is so important to distinguish and identify true national days.
This Day in History
In addition to National Taco Day, here are some things that happened on this day:
- The Orient Express train takes off on its first trip from Paris to Istanbul. (1883)
- Founder Julian Assange launches WikiLeaks. (2006)
- St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic religious leader was born on this day in (1181)
Related Holidays
People who like National Taco Day will also like:
More October 4 Holidays
In addition to National Taco Day, here are more October 4 holidays to enjoy and celebrate.
More About Today
Recipe of the Day: Blueberry Teacake
Also See: Pumpkin Recipes Galore and Holiday Recipes and Halloween Recipes
Pumpkin Nook – Visit the folks that know everything about pumpkins. Halloween, too.
Ecards Send a free Ecard daily for just about any October calendar holiday, occasion, observance, or event. Or, just for the fun of it!
In addition to National Taco Day, here are more October 4 holidays for you to enjoy:
Holiday Insights, where every day in October is a holiday, a bizarre or wacky day, an observance, or a special event. Thus, please join us in the daily calendar fun each and every day of the year.
Did You Know? Furthermore, in addition to National Taco Day, there are literally thousands of daily holidays, special events, and observances, more than one for every day of the year. Many of these holidays are new. People and organizations are creating new holidays regularly. October holidays are no exception. Consequently., at Holiday Insights, we take great efforts to thoroughly research and document the details of each one, as completely and accurately as possible.
