When is National Taco Day? Why the date was changed this year
It’s not often that a company would work to give up a trademark but that’s just what Taco Bell did so that National Taco Day can always fall on a Tuesday.
It’s not often that a holiday gets moved, doing so has in the past as with Thanksgiving caused outcries, for example. While it doesn’t quite carry the weight of that beloved American holiday, National Taco Day has entrenched itself in on the calendars of the Mexican dish’s fans, but its date is changing this year.
The modern National Taco Day traces its October commemoration date back to 2009 which was led by businesses, although it originated back in the 1960s in San Antonion, Texas. At that time, it was locally celebrated on May 3 to coincide with Cinco de Mayo. However, honoring the humble taco faded until internet culture cemented its celebration on October 4, that is until now.
When is National Taco Day? Why the date was changed this year
One minor hitch with the date as it was, is that Americans love to celebrate Taco Tuesdays and unfortunately that meant the odds of a combined celebration were “an epically joyous rarity.” There have only been four times that National Taco Day has fallen on a Tuesday since the turn of the century which has prompted calls for something to be done to fix it.
However, making it so that the two events could coincide with each other had a major problem, in that Taco Bell holds the trademark on ‘Taco Tuesday’, or it used to. That changed “after six months of fighting the good fight” in court by the fast food chain. On October 24, 2023 the phrase ‘Taco Tuesday’ was emancipated and all were given the freedom to use it.
Taco Bell also secured official approval from National Day Calendar to have National Taco Day’s date permanently moved to the first Tuesday of October.
“For years, we’ve celebrated National Taco Day on October 4th, but it’s always felt like there was a bigger opportunity to align it with something even more special—Taco Tuesday,” founder of National Day Calendar, Marlo Anderson, said in a press release. “Thanks to Taco Bell’s efforts, we’re excited to officially move National Taco Day to the first Tuesday in October, creating the Taco Tuesday of all Taco Tuesdays.”
“National Day Calendar has always thrived on the grassroots support of people who love celebrating these moments, and this change is a perfect example of that. It’s more than just moving a date—it’s about bringing taco lovers together in a bigger way, and we couldn’t be more excited!” he added.