National Macaron Day Date in the current year: March 20, 2024

Macarons, also known as French macaroons, are are meringue-based confections made with almond flour, egg whites, sugar, and food coloring. They have been known in Italy and France since Renaissance but their popularity outside of Europe is relatively recent.

According to some food historians, macarons are related to Persian nut-based sweets that were brought to Europe by Arab troops during the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Unleavened almond cookies that would become macarons originated in Italy around the 8th or 9th century and were introduced to France in the 16th century by the Italian pastry chefs of Catherine de’ Medici, the Florentine-born wife of King Henry II of France.

However, the confection remained relatively unknown outside of the royal court for the next few decades. Macarons were popularized by two Carmelite nuns who sought asylum in Nancy during the French Revolution. They started a macaron business to pay for housing and became known as the “Macaron Sisters”.

Those early macarons didn’t have any special fillings or flavorings. Parisian-style macarons consisting of two halves with a buttercream, ganache or jam filling sandwiched between them originated sometime around the 19th century. Today, macarons come in an impressive variety of flavors ranging from traditional (vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, strawberry) to unusual (matcha, lavender, and even wasabi).

National Macaron Day was created in 2010 by François Payard, a pastry chef from Nice, France who relocated to New York City in 1990 and opened his own restaurant, Payard Patisserie, on Upper East Side in 1997. The holiday is celebrated on the first day of astronomical spring and coincides with International Day of Happiness.

Other bakeries eventually joined the celebration, and today National Macaron Day is celebrated by dozens of bakeries in New York City and beyond, including Whoops!, Savor Patisserie, So Sweet, Little Dreamer’s Macarons and Creations, Circle City Sweets, and Aktaion Pastry Boutique. On March 20, participating bakeries offer discounted or free macarons to their customers and donate a percentage of macaron sales to local food banks and other charities.

There are many ways to celebrate National Macaron Day. You can check out whether your local bakeries have any Macaron Day offers, grab a box of macarons from your favorite bakery and share it with friends, try making macarons at home, and spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalMacaronDay and #MacaronDay.

National Macaron Day should not be confused with two other holidays that have similar sounding names, National Macaroon Day and National Macaroni Day. National Macaroon Day, celebrated on May 31, is dedicated to a coconut-based cookie that is related to macarons. National Macaroni Day is observed on July 7; it celebrates one of the most popular types of pasta, which is one of the two principal ingredients in mac and cheese.