Let’s have some Polish doughnuts this Fat Thursday! Posted by Kasia on Feb 20, 2020 in Culture
Fat Thursday is here! How I wish I was in Poland today, eating wonderful doughnuts my mother makes at home….What a delicious holiday!
The exact date of Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) changes every year because it depends on the Christian calendar and is linked to Lent and Easter. However, Fat Thursday is always celebrated on the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday and, therefore, just before the beginning of Lent.
Pączki my friend Ela made! Image courtesy Ela Thiede-Waugh
Every year Polish people get crazy about pączki (doughnuts). The purpose is actually to eat as many donuts as possible on this day. According to statistics every Polish person eats two and a half donuts on that day, which stands for 100 million for the entire nation. On this day Polish people eat also angel wings (faworki), which are my favorite! It’s a french pastry cut lengthwise with a slice in the middle. You twist the dough through the slice few times and that’s how you get this amazing shape! I remember that this was my favorite things to do when I was helping my mother in the kitchen.
But if you don’t make your own doughnuts on this day, get ready to stand in long lines through the whole day to get them from bakeries!
Doughnuts with icing and almonds. Image by czaro85 from Pixabay
Faworki. Image by Marcin Wąż from Pixabay
Most traditional donuts are fried and filled with rose jam, or plum preserve. There are also more modern editions with alcohol: advocate and chocolate. They can be topped with icing, powder sugar or almonds. It is said that you will have bad luck for an entire year if you do not eat at least one pączek (doughnut – singular, pączki – doughnuts plural) on this day! Once a year, this day gives Polish people the chance to overindulge on food! I’m heading to the local bakery now!
How many doughnuts have you eaten today?
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About the Author: Kasia
My name is Kasia Scontsas. I grew near Lublin, Poland and moved to Warsaw to study International Business. I have passion for languages: any languages! Currently I live in New Hampshire. I enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking and paddle boarding. My husband speaks a little Polish, but our daughters are fluent in it! I wanted to make sure that they can communicate with their Polish relatives in our native language. Teaching them Polish since they were born was the best thing I could have given them! I have been writing about learning Polish language and culture for Transparent Language’s Polish Blog since 2010.
Comments:
Frank Peter Polanowski:
I always thought it was on “Shrove Tuesday” that the Poles got rid of all excess fats, etc., in preparation for “Lent” As an octogenarian, I don’t ever recall “Shrove Thursday”! I live in heart of Amish Country and here, they celebrate with “Fastnachts” which are the equivalent of Pazkie! So, which came first???