WE are, each and every one of us, standing together on the threshold of National Surimi Seafood Month. June is also the month to celebrate papayas, iced tea, frozen yogurt, candy, soul food, steakhouses and applesauce cake. And whether you eat turkeys or simply admire them, prepare to party. June is Turkey Lovers’ Month, too.

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Illustration by Seymour Chwast

At least 175 days a year are set aside in recognition of some form of food or drink. This puts a lot of pressure on the average eater. The week of July 15 alone starts with Tapioca Day, moves into Fresh Spinach Day, National Caviar Day and National Daiquiri Day, and ends with National Junk Food Day.

Most food holidays didn’t spring from a spontaneous national outpouring of passion for, say, lunchmeat (Bologna Day is Oct. 24, by the way). Unlike Mother’s Day, which sprung from early anti-war efforts, National Crown Roast of Pork Day (March 7) has no political underpinnings. National Frozen Food Month (also in March) does not have the religious or cultural framework of Valentine’s Day.

Although most elected officials will happily declare a food holiday when a trade association or commodity group asks, the proclamations don’t really mean much. Schools and banks do not close for National Vinegar Day (June 16).

No, most food holidays are invented by people who want to sell more food.

Bake for Family Fun Month, bless its heart, appears dedicated to preserving a meaningful ritual of the kitchen during February. That may well happen, but the holiday also benefits its sponsor, an association of companies that sell flour, butter and home baking equipment.

So many food holidays can be hard to keep track of. There are almost two dozen dessert days, a number that begs for comparisons. Is National Sacher Torte Day bigger than Spongecake Day? Or are both kicked to the curb by National Butterscotch Pudding Day? (Sept. 19, if you’re planning ahead.)

Food holidays can highlight gross injustice. Consider the sandwich category. Egg salad gets a week in April, but the peanut butter and jelly — clearly the more enduring American sandwich — has only a day (April 2).

Nowhere are the holidays more unevenly distributed than among the fruits. Is it fair, for example, that raisins and figs get only a week each, but peaches have an entire month (July)?

And peaches have nothing on apples, which get three months (September through November), with special break-out days for specific varieties. (Eat a Red Apple Day comes, inexplicably, on Dec. 1.)

Blame seniority. Apple Week is one of the earliest food holidays. It began in 1904. By the 1970s, the week became a month, and by the 1990s the apple celebration had grown to three months, said Kay Rentzel, director of the U.S. Apple Association’s national apple month program.

Apple sales jump by as much as 25 percent during the promotion, Ms. Rentzel said. Last year 5,550 retailers received certificates from Ms. Rentzel’s office for participating.

“They may have special apple events that go on or they may have special signage in their store,” she said. “Some stores will do a baking contest. It’s a pretty exciting time.”

Often, a commodity group looking to popularize a food holiday will wrangle a government official to help. Three years ago, the California Wine Institute convinced Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare September California Wine Month. It’s not the only food holiday he likes. Mr. Schwarzenegger declared July California Wild King Salmon Month and January California Dried Plum Digestive Health Month.

But prunes and cabernet don’t need the governor’s blessing. In the loosely organized world of food holidays, nothing is really required for legitimacy. One could simply decide that Sept. 12 is Ropa Vieja Day and hope that a blogger somewhere picks it up and gives it some traction.

For serious students of the genre, there is something of an authority: Chase’s Calendar of Events, 750 pages of notable birthdays, community happenings and holidays. If someone develops an idea for, say, Bread Pudding Recipe Exchange Week (May 1-7) and submits a form found in the back of the book, it will be considered for inclusion.

Chase’s has standards, and not every proposal makes the cut. An organization has to agree to sponsor the holiday, or there has to be some sort of ongoing promotion or tangible enthusiasm for it, said Holly McGuire, who edits the book in Chicago.