National Pizza Party Day

Each year on the third Friday in May, millions of pizza lovers across the nation join in extolling the qualities of pizza on National Pizza Party Day.

Since pizza is one of America’s favorite foods, it comes as no surprise we would celebrate a day that features a pizza party. Pizza parties bring friends together. They’re also an excellent way to reward a team or group for a job well done. Birthdays and some minor achievements are also celebrated with pizza parties, too. Although, just about any excuse can be used for a good pizza party.

• In ancient Greece, the Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese, which some attribute to the beginning of the pizza.
• In Byzantine Greek, the word was spelled “πίτα,” pita, meaning pie.
• The Romans developed a pastry with a sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey, then flavored with bay leaves.
• Our modern pizza had its beginning in Italy as the Neapolitan flatbread.
• The original pizza used only mozzarella cheese, mainly the highest quality buffalo mozzarella variant. It was produced in the surroundings of Naples.
• An estimated 2 billion pounds of pizza cheese was produced in the United States in 1997.
• The first United States pizza establishment opened in New York’s Little Italy in 1905.
• The largest pizza ever made, according to Guinness World Records, weighed 26,883 pounds. It was made in Norwood, South Africa, on December 8, 1990.
• As far as pizza eating contests go, the winner goes to Kelvin Medina, who ate a 12-inch pizza in 23.62 seconds on April 12, 2015.