Celebrated on September 14th annually, National Eat A Hoagie Day is a holiday that encourages everyone to eat the sandwich that goes by a million names. Some people call these sandwiches hoagies or subs, while others call them heroes, grinders, bombers, torpedoes, po’boys, or submarines. No matter what you call them, one thing is for certain: these are some of the most satisfying and delicious sandwiches a person can enjoy. And that’s reason enough for us to encourage everyone to celebrate this holiday.

The History Of The Hoagie

Since the history of National Eat A Hoagie Day is obviously lost to history, we thought we’d cover the history of the hoagie. Of course, the history of this sandwich isn’t as cut and dried as we would like it to be. There are competing origin stories surrounding this sandwich, and several different cities claim to be the birthplace of the hoagie sandwich.

The most widely believed origin story for this sandwich is that it originated in Philadelphia. According to a report in a 1953 article in The Philadelphia Bulletin, the hoagie was started by Italians working at WWI-era shipyards in Philadelphia. This area was known as Hog Island, and it’s where emergency shipping was produced for America’s war effort. According to this story, workers would put various meats, cheeses, and vegetables between two slices of bread. These sandwiches became known as hoagies.

Like we said, however, there’s more than one origin story for the hoagie. Another story claims that hoagies were originally sandwiches given to destitute people in a South Philadelphia neighborhood by local deli owners. They were called hoagies because being “on the hoke” meant that someone was destitute. The sandwiches were then called “Hokies,” a name that supposedly became corrupted to “hoagie” by the accents of Italian immigrants in those neighborhoods.

Facts About Hoagies & Other Sandwiches

Want some tasty facts about hoagies? If you do, then we have a nice spread of trivia that we found while researching National Eat A Hoagie Day. Feel free to share the following facts with friends and neighbors when you celebrate this holiday.

• National Hoagie Day falls on May 5th.
• Americans eat more than 300 million sandwiches every year. That’s almost one sandwich for every person in the U.S each year.
• The world’s largest sandwich weighed over 5,400 pounds.
• The most popular sandwich in the U.S isn’t a hoagie; it’s a ham sandwich.
• The second most popular sandwich in the U.S is a BLT.

Observing National Eat A Hoagie Day

It’s easy to celebrate this holiday because the instructions for celebrating this holiday can be found in its name. All you have to do on this day is grab a hoagie at your local deli or sub-shop, or make your own using Italian bread, meats, cheeses, and your favorite toppings. While you’re celebrating this holiday, don’t forget to use the hashtag #NationalEatAHoagieDay and encourage everyone to celebrate this day as well. Eating a hoagie is a fun and delicious meal no matter what time of day you enjoy it.