Curry Day (Japan)
Next: January 22, 2027
One pot of curry, the whole country at lunch.
The story
Where it comes from
Curry Day, Karē no Hi, was set on 22 January by the All Japan Curry Industry Cooperative Association, the trade body of Japan's curry makers. The date recalls 1982, when the national council of school nutritionists, ahead of the annual School Lunch Week, called on schools across Japan to serve curry, the dish children liked best, as a nationwide school-lunch menu. Curry rice was by then one of Japan's best-loved home dishes, and that shared lunch became the day's story.
How it's celebrated
Curry makers use the day to run promotions and share recipes and information about the dish. At home it is simply an excuse to make a big pot of curry rice for dinner, or to treat a friend to their favourite curry shop.
Did you know
- The date was chosen to fall just before School Lunch Week, Japan's annual week celebrating school meals.
- The 1982 nationwide curry lunch was organised by school nutritionists, not by the curry industry.
- The association says its members mark the day by working all year for people's 'healthy and rich' everyday eating.
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