For years, meatballs have taken a back seat to spaghetti, but that is no longer the case thanks to the introduction of National Meatball Day—a holiday celebrated annually on March 9th. This unofficial holiday is the perfect day to celebrate the little orbs of meat that make so many dishes special. So, whether you like meatballs on your spaghetti, love Swedish meatballs, or simply flip over meatball subs, then this holiday might just be the one you want to celebrate.

The History of the Meatball

As far as historians know, meatballs were first created around the 2nd century B.C. in China. From there, it’s believed that the meatball moved across the Middle East and finally traveled trade routes to make it throughout Europe. While many people think that meatballs came to the United States from Italy, that isn’t the case. Spaghetti and meatballs were actually an invention of Italian Americans. Later on, these Italian Americans would then introduce meatballs to Italy. Today, just about every culture on the planet has its own form of meatballs.

Unfortunately, while the history of the meatball is fairly well charted, it would appear that the history of National Meatball Day isn’t. It’s currently unclear who invented this particular holiday. It was probably invented by someone who really loved meatballs, which narrows it down to several billion people.

Celebrating National Meatball Day

The only real way to celebrate National Meatball Day is by cooking up your favorite balls of meat, which is no easy task since there are dozens of different ways to enjoy meatballs. Some of the more common meatball recipes include Pork Meatball Banh Mi Sandwiches, Meatball Casserole, Meatball Pizza, Rice Noodle Salad with Pork Meatballs, Red Thai Meatball Curry, Beef Stroganoff with Meatballs, Mac n’ Cheese with Meatballs, Meatball Subs, and of course, Spaghetti and Meatballs.