Pączki. Mateusz Grądzki / Pixabay.com / 2020 / CC0 1.0
Pączki Day is observed just shortly before the start of Lent.
It celebrates “pączki“, which are rich, deep-fried yeast-risen, solid-centre doughnuts with a filling piped into them, and then sugared or glazed.
Making them at this time of year was reputedly a way of using up ingredients that weren’t allowed during the Lenten fasting period. The tradition started in Poland during the Middle Ages.
There are actually two different dates for Pączki Day:
- In Poland, Pączki Day is on Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), the last Thursday prior to Ash Wednesday;
- In North America, the date got merged with Pancake Tuesday, and so is the Tuesday right before Ash Wednesday [1]”By the way, paczki is Tuesday, March 7, also known as Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, and wait for it, Fat Tuesday, the end of Mardi Gras. Paczkis represent the Polish way to launch into Lent the next day on Ash Wednesday.” — Whipp, Ted. A wish come true — low-fat paczkis. Windsor, Ontario: The Windsor Star. 16 February 2000. Page E2, col 1. ;
- In Chicago, both days are observed.
For many bakeries, February is a slow month, but as Packzi Day grows in recognition in North America, for some bakeries, it’s becoming the busiest day of the year, and there are often line-ups to get into Polish bakeries to buy them.
Some churches sell them as fund raisers.
In some cities, paczki eating contests are held. In Hamtramck, Michigan, near Detroit, there’s a paczki parade on the Tuesday.
#PączkiDay
Language notes
Pączki (POONCH-kee) is the plural of pączek (PON-check).
In English, many people write “paczkis” with an s to pluralize it, which is redundant but probably inevitable.
Sources
Brinn, Janis. Pączki Day: A Polish tradition becomes an American tradition. Michigan State Extension. 12 February 2021. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/pczki_day_a_polish_tradition_becomes_an_american_tradition
Georgieva, Katerina. Windsor-Essex bakeries handle Paczki Day madness. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 February 2020. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/bakeries-ready-for-paczki-day-2020-1.5474976
Paczki Day Is Feb. 16th, 2021: Your Guide To Paczki Day At Local Windsor Essex Bakeries. Windsor, Ontario: Windsorite News. February 2021. Accessed February 2021 at https://windsorite.ca/guides/paczki/
Martinelli, Michelle R. FTW Explains: What is Paczki Day? USA Today. 25 February 2021. Accessed February 2021 at https://ftw.usatoday.com/2020/02/paczki-day-mardi-gras-fat-tuesday
Polasek, Jennifer. Celebrate Fat Tuesday with Paczki in Pure Michigan. Michigan.org. Accessed February 2021 at https://www.michigan.org/article/trip-idea/celebrate-fat-tuesday-paczki-pure-michigan
References
| ↑1 | ”By the way, paczki is Tuesday, March 7, also known as Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, and wait for it, Fat Tuesday, the end of Mardi Gras. Paczkis represent the Polish way to launch into Lent the next day on Ash Wednesday.” — Whipp, Ted. A wish come true — low-fat paczkis. Windsor, Ontario: The Windsor Star. 16 February 2000. Page E2, col 1. |
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