Pop Culture dictionary

National Hamburger Day

or National Burger Day nash-uh-nl ham-bur-ger, bur-ger dey ]

When and when is National Hamburger Day?

National Hamburger Day is an unofficial holiday, most commonly observed on May 28, that celebrates hamburgers. Don’t fret, vegetarians and vegans: meatless options are included.

Related words

🍔 Hamburger emoji, National Eggnog Day, National Bacon Day, National Wine Day, National Hangover Day, 🌭 Hot Dog emoji

Where does National Hamburger Day come from?

The word hamburger is recorded in the 1880s and is short for Hamburg(er) steak, which was first dished up in New York City in the 1830s and resembled a Salisbury steak. The dish is said to be based on applications of beef sausage brought to the US in the 1800s by German immigrants, many of whom left through the port of Hamburg, Germany.

Who put the patty between two buns is also hotly disputed, with many claims to invention in the US.

Hamburger was further shortened to burger by the 1930s, by which time the food was already popular in the US. In 2012, PBS estimated that Americans alone eat 50 billion burgers a year. And, since at least 2010, people have been celebrating them on May 28 on National Hamburger Day.

Examples of National Hamburger Day

I’d like to wish everyone a Happy and Safe National Hamburger Day Eve #NationalHamburgerDayEve
@AllAboutThatEve, December 20, 2020
Food retailers, cafes, bars, restaurants and, most of all, burger bars, should exploit National Hamburger Day to pull in the punters and entice them to sample their delicious hamburgers.
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead, Small Business Trends, April 14, 2019

Who uses National Hamburger Day?

As noted, National Hamburger Day variously marked on May 28, July 28, and December 21. The May 28 seems to be the most popular, however, and the holiday is often noted as the hashtag #NationalHamburgerDay with a side of the Hamburger emoji 🍔.

Despite being called a national holiday, National Hamburger Day is marked around the world. People use National Hamburger Day as an excuse to discuss hamburgers in culture, show them off in cuisine, or just gobble them up. And oh, companies and restaurants certainly seize the marketing opportunity, too, on the day.

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of National Hamburger Day like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of National Hamburger Day that will help our users expand their word mastery.