National Pie Day is Jan. 23, and ASB is hosting the pie day celebration at lunch, so let’s take a moment to distinguish between “Pie Day” and “Pi Day” on Mar. 14 to uncover which is ultimately better (it’s pie day of course).
The National Pie Day that is more well-known is the one celebrated on Jan. 23. It is a classic celebration where people eat pie (pumpkin in particular), popularized in the mid-1970s by a teacher named Charlie Papazian from Boulder, Colorado who thought to rebrand his birthday as “National Pie Day;” however, this holiday wasn’t sponsored by the American Pie Council (an organization that strives to preserve American pie heritage) until 1986, when the council decided to honor the 75th anniversary of Crisco, the popular shortening most commonly used in homemade pie crust.
National Pi Day, on the other hand, is celebrated on Mar. 14 as a celebration of the mathematical constant pi, 3.14 (and a seemingly endless string of numbers). First celebrated in 1988 by founder Larry Shaw. Coincidentally, Pi Day is also celebrated by eating pie.
Between the two days, the clear winner is pie. Not only was Pie Day a national holiday first, but it is all about a sweet treat enjoyed by many, while the celebration of pi is in support of a math term which is very complicated, boring, and never ending.
As an avid math hater, I can say confidently I’d much rather support the enjoyment of a delicious pumpkin or chocolate cream pie rather than a constant that I barely understand the use of.
Regardless of your stance on this matter, we should all take the time to enjoy another slice of pie. Apparently, apple is the national favorite.
