Various sites claim to be the birthplace of this treat. But one of the most popular stories says it was created in Ithaca, New York.
On a hot Sunday afternoon in 1892, the pastor of the local Unitarian Church went to a parishioner's drugstore after the services to discuss his sermon. The parishioner got two dishes of ice cream, plopped a cherry on top of each and then, on a whim, poured cherry syrup on the ice cream.
It tasted delicious. What to call this new concoction? The pastor suggested "Cherry Sunday" - a gesture towards the Lord's Day.
From then on, the soda fountain at the drugstore featured "Cherry Sundays."
The new discovery quickly caught on ... and began to spread ... and the flavors changed ... as did the spelling of its name.
- Little White Book, Diocese of Saginaw