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When is National Sundae Day?

National Sundae Day celebrates scoops of ice cream topped with syrup or sauce, and it falls on November 11 every year.

Next

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

in 14 days

The one after

Thursday, November 11, 2027

Every year

November 11 every year

Informal observance

National Sundae Day is a day for the sundae: scoops of ice cream topped with syrup or sauce, and often whipped cream, nuts and a cherry. It falls on November 11 every year, whatever the day of the week.

It is not an official holiday. It is an informal observance listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups, and no law or proclamation names it.

Informal observance. An informal observance, listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups. It is not a proclaimed holiday.

Simple ways to mark it

  • Set up a sundae bar for a group and use the Scoop Planner to see how much ice cream and each topping to buy.
  • Check the ice cream scoop size chart to pick a disher, so every sundae at school or work gets a fair scoop.
  • Make sundaes at home after dinner with one ice cream, one warm sauce, whipped cream, chopped nuts and a cherry on top.
  • Read the history of ice cream page together and share the sundae's origin stories in a class or team newsletter.

Where the day comes from

National Sundae Day is an informal observance listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups. It is not a proclaimed holiday, and no law or proclamation names it. National Day Calendar lists the day on November 11 and says it is still researching its origin. For now, nobody can say who started National Sundae Day or when it began.

The sundae itself has its own stories. IDFA’s history of ice cream says the dish began in the late 1890s, when some people objected to rich ice cream sodas on Sundays. In IDFA’s account, sellers answered by leaving the soda water out, named the new dish after the day, and later changed the spelling.

National Day Calendar tells a less settled story. It notes that the oldest known record of an ice cream sundae is an advertisement from Ithaca, New York. It also notes that who first made the dessert is still disputed. So if anyone asks when National Sundae Day is, the answer is November 11. If they ask who made the first sundae, the honest answer is that nobody knows for sure. That still leaves a scoop, a sauce, a cherry and a good story to tell over the bowl.

Questions people ask

When is National Sundae Day?

National Sundae Day falls on November 11 every year. The date stays the same, so the day of the week changes from year to year. Our page shows the next two dates and how many days are left.

Is National Sundae Day an official holiday?

No. National Sundae Day is an informal observance listed by day-calendar sites and trade groups. No law or proclamation names it, so it is a day to enjoy a sundae, not a public holiday.

Who started National Sundae Day?

Nobody knows yet. National Day Calendar lists the day on November 11 and says it is still researching where the day came from. No proclamation or law records who started it.

Who invented the ice cream sundae?

No one can say for sure. National Day Calendar notes that who first made the dessert is still disputed, and that the oldest known record of a sundae is an advertisement from Ithaca, New York.

Sources

  1. National Sundae Day (November 11) National Day Calendar
  2. The History of Ice Cream International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)

Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.

More ice cream days

The full calendar, with a month view of July