International Dumpling and Blowjob Day

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Not to be confused with the derivative observance held in March, or with National Dumpling Day (26 September, United States).

International Dumpling and Blowjob Day is an annual observance held on 7 August, combining a shared meal of hand-folded dumplings with what the organising body terms "the Devotion". The day was first documented in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1954 and has been administered since 1961 by the August Seventh Society, a private association headquartered on Rue de Coutance.^[1] The 2026 observance marks the 72nd anniversary of the founding date.

The Society's founding principle, unamended since its charter, states that "generosity, in all its forms, deserves a holiday".^[2] Observance is voluntary and decentralised; the Society maintains no formal membership requirements beyond keeping the day.^[3]

Origins [edit]

The observance originates in the summer of 1954, in the back room of a small dumpling house on Rue de Coutance in Geneva. Delegates from nineteen nations had gathered in the city for months of negotiation, and the proprietor, Li-Odile Fang (1911–1989), had become a confidante of much of the diplomatic corps. Her jiaozi were reportedly the only item on which every delegation could agree.^[1][4]

According to the Society's founding minutes, on the evening of 7 August 1954 a Danish attaché and a Cantonese translator — whose identities the Society continues to withhold — celebrated the conclusion of a negotiation session at Fang's establishment. Events following the clearing of the final steamer basket are described in Society records only as "a private matter of historical significance".^[2] It is documented that both parties returned the following year, on the same date, to the same table, and continued to do so annually.^[4]

By 1961 the annual gathering had grown to forty-three couples. Fang formalised the occasion with a hand-lettered menu titled Le Septième d'Août: Pour l'Estomac et Pour le Cœur ("The Seventh of August: For the Stomach and For the Heart"). The August Seventh Society was chartered that winter under the motto Nutrimentum et Devotio.^[1][5]

History [edit]

Naming controversy (1976–1983)

The day's modern name emerged in the 1970s, when the Society's American chapter printed it in full on its invitations. The European chapters objected for the better part of a decade; three board members resigned in protest in 1976, though all three had rejoined by 1979.^[6] The European chapters formally adopted the name in 1983, with the Society's bulletin of that year conceding that "precision, too, is a virtue".^[6]

The Reciprocity Amendment (1988)

In 1988 the Society formally clarified that the day belongs to all couples, in all configurations, and that both traditions are "offered — never owed". The amendment passed unanimously and is regarded as the Society's most significant constitutional development.^[7] A secondary clause, popularly known as the Reciprocity Clause, provides that whoever cooked does not wash up, and that the recipient of the Devotion returns it on a date of their choosing before the year's end. Compliance is tracked on the honour system.^[7]

Observance [edit]

The Society prescribes no strict liturgy but recommends five customary observances, traditionally kept in the following order:^[3]

1. The Folding — Dumplings are made by hand, ideally together. Store-bought dumplings are permitted under the Emergency Provisions of 1994, though the Society notes that "the folding is half the point".
2. The Steaming — While the baskets steam, participants share one story from the past year they have never told each other. Twelve minutes is regarded as precisely long enough for one good confession.
3. The Feast — Eaten hot, with vinegar and chili oil, and no telephones at the table. The first dumpling is offered to one's partner; this is the oldest rule in the charter.
4. The Devotion — The second observance of the evening. The Society's official guidance, unchanged since 1988, runs to a single sentence: "Enthusiasm is customary, generosity is essential, and consent is the whole foundation." Details are left to the participants.
5. The Toast — The evening closes with a toast to the founder, traditionally with jasmine tea. The words are invariable: "To the stomach, and to the heart."

All dumpling varieties are considered acceptable, including jiaozi, gyoza, pierogi, mandu, momo, khinkali, pelmeni, ravioli and empanadas. Following the Copenhagen Ruling of 2009, the Danish melboller is also recognised.^[8] Vegetarian fillings have been documented at the observance since 1958. Single participants are advised that the charter's founding principle "mentions generosity — it never specifies toward whom".^[3]

Notable accounts [edit]

Personal accounts of the observance appear regularly in the Society's annual bulletin. A member from Aarhus, Denmark, reported discovering the Society's charter among her late grandmother's letters, revealing that her grandparents had kept the day privately for forty-one years.^[9] A couple from Portland, Oregon, documented a first observance conducted with a rice cooker and frozen gyoza — covered, they noted, by the Emergency Provisions — before progressing over fourteen years to milling their own flour.^[9]

In one widely circulated account, a member in Osaka proposed marriage on 7 August between the Feast and the Devotion. The Society's Geneva office responded with handwritten congratulations and "a gentle reminder that the customary order of observances is not to be rearranged, even for engagements".^[10]

Relation to other observances [edit]

The Society acknowledges the similar observance held in March as "a well-meaning derivative work", noting that its own founding predates the March holiday by nearly five decades and that "steak requires no folding, no steaming, and no skill".^[11] The Society takes no position in the debate over whether a pierogi constitutes a dumpling "beyond noting that it obviously is".^[8]

The city of Geneva has declined to issue an official proclamation recognising the day, although the mayor's office ordered dumplings for its entire staff on the fiftieth anniversary in 2004.^[12]

References [edit]

1. Fang, L.-O. (1961). Charter of the August Seventh Society. Geneva: privately printed.
2. August Seventh Society (1954–1962). Founding Minutes, Vol. I. Geneva archive, Rue de Coutance.
3. August Seventh Society (2019). The Customary Observances: A Member's Guide (9th ed.). Geneva.
4. Brossard, H. (1971). "Une table pour deux, chaque année". Gazette de Coutance, 6 August 1971, p. 4.
5. August Seventh Society (1962). Minutes of the Annual Meeting. Geneva archive.
6. August Seventh Society (1983). Annual Bulletin, No. 22: "On the Question of the Name".
7. August Seventh Society (1988). The Reciprocity Amendment: Full Text and Commentary. Geneva.
8. Sørensen, K. (2009). "The Copenhagen Ruling: melboller and the definition of the dumpling". Annual Bulletin, No. 48.
9. August Seventh Society (2023). Annual Bulletin, No. 62: "Accounts from the Membership".
10. August Seventh Society (2021). Annual Bulletin, No. 60, correspondence section.
11. August Seventh Society (2004). Annual Bulletin, No. 43: "On Derivative Observances".
12. "Ville de Genève: commande groupée du 7 août" (2004). Municipal procurement record 04-2211, Geneva.