What is a Waffle?

The modern Belgian waffle
A waffle is a light type of pastry cooked between two buttered and heated plates of a waffle iron.  The plates have embossed patterns and are hinged together on one side.

• Belgian waffles were created for the 1964 World's Fair in NY. There, Fairgoers were treated to a new creation: the "Bel-Gem Waffle" — a combination of waffle, strawberries and whipped cream.
• The inventor of the Belgian waffle was Maurice Vermersch and his wife:
  "Vermersch started making waffles from a recipe of his wife's when living in Belgium before the outbreak of World War II. After serving in the war, he started two restaurants in Belgium before making his World's Fair debut at the Brussels fair in 1960. Business went so well in Brussels that Vermersch and four other families decided to head to New York for the 1964 World's Fair. And when they arrived in Queens, the name of their product was changed from the Brussel Waffle to the Belgian Waffle. The name Belgian waffle was created in New York."
  
  His waffles made memories at the Queens World's Fair," Newsday (Queens edition) August 22, 1989 (p. 21)

International Waffle Day (March 25)
originated in Sweden where it is called Våffeldagen

The History of the Waffle
The modern waffle has its origins in the wafer-like thin crisp cakes that were baked between wafer irons.  They originated in Europe are mentioned in poems of the late 12th century when they were made and sold on the streets, especially to celebrate feast days.  These old waffle irons were often very ornately embossed with family crests or other patterns and were heated in an open fire.

In medieval Europe, vendors were permitted to sell their waffles outside churches on saints' days and during other special religious celebrations. Competition at the churches eventually became very heated, and at times so violent, that King Charles IX of France imposed a regulation on waffle sales, requiring vendors to maintain a distance of at least deux toises (4 m/12 ft) from one another.