You may have thought, “I love pie so much, there ought to be a holiday devoted to it.”

You also might not have thought this.

Either way, surprise! It’s National Pie Day!

If you didn’t get gifts for your friends and family, have no fear. The American Pie Council suggests you celebrate the holiday by, as they put it, “paying it forward” at the grocery store: Buy one pie for your family and buy another for the person behind you at the supermarket line, or for a neighbor or co-worker.

If you’d rather not actively celebrate the holiday, here are some facts from the American Pie Council:

¢ According to a 2006 survey, about 25 percent of people list apple as their favorite pie, followed by pumpkin/sweet potato (17 percent), chocolate (14 percent), lemon meringue (11 percent) and cherry (10 percent).

¢ In the same survey, twice as many people said they preferred pie plain, as opposed to with ice cream or whipped topping.

¢ Twenty percent of Americans said they have eaten an entire pie by themselves.

¢ Nine percent eat their pie crust first.

¢ At one time, it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.

¢ The earliest pies on record were around 2000 B.C. in Egypt. The Greeks began eating pie between 1400 B.C. and 600 B.C., and it was passed to the Greeks around 100 B.C. The first pie recipe was published by the Romans and was for a goat cheese and honey pie.

For more trivia, visit www.piecouncil.org.