Scroll to explore events active on this date.
Spring has sprung in the north, and the first hints of Autumn are on the horizon in the south. April is the month spring (or fall) gets underway, and it is filled with religious celebrations, including the Mu...
Welcome to Spring or Autumn. This is a transitional month with something for everyone. Internationally, it is Women's History Month, focusing on the achievements, needs, and challenges that women ...
The world steps into the second month of 2025 with hope and trepidation. The United States has a new administration. Canada is finding its way to a new administration. Germany and several other European nations...
National Croissant Day celebrates the airy pastry called the croissant. A popular legend says croissants first appeared in 1683 in Austria. At that time, the Ottoman Empire besieged Vienna, Austria. Austria outlast the siege. Tall tales suggest they celebrated victory over the Islamic empire with crescent-shaped pastries. Why a crescent? It's the symbol of Islam—or is it? Here's the problem with that legend.
The crescent and star were not associated with Islam until the late 1700s when the Ottoman Empire emblazoned their flag with the symbol. Before that, there was no universal symbol for Islam like the cross or fish in Christianity. The Star of David, likewise, is not an ancient symbol for Judaism. The star was adopted by the Zionist movement at the turn of the last century and represents a political movement associated with the faith.
The star and crescent exist on artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age (3300 BC to 1200 BC). It is found on Roman coins, within the symbols of the Knights Templar, and in various Christian iconography. So if the legend about 17th-century bakers in Austria is incorrect, where did croissants come from?
Croissants are the children of a 13th-century bread called the Kipferi, a crusted yeast bread baked in a 3/4 circle. The baking style required to make a croissant incorporates layers of yeast bread with butter folded on each other, then twisted. This technique first appeared in the late 1830s in France at August Zang's Pastry shop in Paris, the Boulangerie Viennoise. Zang was Austrian, so Austria is part of the story.
Zang took his light-layered creation and folded its ends toward each other, forming the now iconic crescent shape. By 1869, the croissant made its way to breakfast tables throughout France and had become a staple. The puff pastry received one more boost in popularity when Charles Dickens mentioned it in his periodical "All the Year Round" in 1872.
Now you know the brief history of one of the world's favorite carbs, the croissant, and the origins of religious trademarks. With today being Croissant Day, why not indulge in one yourself?
Currently, this event does not have supporting videos.
Currently, this event does not have supporting documents.
Currently, this event does not have supporting images.
By using this site. You are agreeing to use of cookies. Learn more in our Privacy Policy
LEGAL: Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear attribution is given to Jubilee LLC and LEEPCalendar.com, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (Page URL). Additional documents, embedded videos and additional image rights retained by their creators and are provided to increase understanding of the event or topic.
Jubilee LLC reserves the right to accept or reject inclusion of events in this calendar. The appearance of an event in LEEP Calendar does not imply endorsement of the event, nor the organization championing the event by Jubilee LLC, its stakeholders, customers or subsidiaries. All dates, contact information, URLs, addresses, and information relating to any event, promotion or holiday are subject to change without notice and should be treated as estimated. Jubilee LLC, our stakeholders, customers and subsidiaries cannot warrant accuracy. Users of this application are solely responsible for verifying actual event date with organizers and additional sources prior to committing resources, financial, human or otherwise.