I wish I had found out about Donut Day earlier because Krispy Kreme was giving out free donuts today. I even was right near a Krispy Kreme and didn’t think to go in. Which is probably good–I was carrying a very large smoothie from Dunkin Donuts as I was walking past the Krispy Kreme. I’m not too sure they’d be thrilled to give me a free donut with that in my hand! But I digress.
I didn’t find out about National Donut Day until this evening. Someone had sent me an e-mail notification for it. It is, for future reference, always the first Friday in June. You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this, since we’ve all missed our golden opportunity at donut goodness but bear with me. National Donut Day is held every year to honor the ‘lassies’ of the Salvation Army in WWI. It also helps raise awareness for social causes of the Salvation Army and helps raise funds for Salvation Army charities.
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Maybe I’m just not as well educated as I thought I was, but I had no idea what a ‘lassie’ was and what part they could’ve possibly played in WWI. Apparently a ‘lassie’ was a Salvation Army volunteer that would go to the front lines in Europe during the war. The volunteers made “real” food and provided a moral boost to the troops that were serving at the time.
One thing that these lassies cooked were. . .you guessed it, donuts! They would deep fry the doughy concoctions inside the metal helmet of one of the soldiers. Consequently, the soldiers were often called “doughboys.” This is where the term ‘doughboy’ originated.
So now that you know the history of National Donut Day, you can mark it on your calendar for next year! Krispy Kreme, among other places do give away free donuts, but of course you are welcome to drop some change to honor the ‘lassies’ and help great causes all over the world.
Feeling adventurous? Try these Banana Velvet Doughnuts!
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