Fat Thursday or in Polish Tłusty Czwartek is celebrated across Poland to mark the last Thursday before lent.
The exact date of Fat Thursday changes every year because it depends on the Christian calendar and is linked to Lent and Easter.
Many people purchase Pączki (POHNCH-kee) – doughnuts from their local bakeries or eat homemade pączki.
Usually in Poland on the day before, bakeries would have queues out of the door.
Many sweet Polish foods are sold and eaten, mostly Faworki (“angel wings,” pastry with sugar) and Pączki (filled doughnuts).
Polish Doughnuts – Pączki (POHNCH-kee) are fried rounds of yeast dough with rosehip, prune, apricot, strawberry, raspberry or sweet cheese filling.
Fat Thursday is a traditional Catholic Christian feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival.
Because Lent is a time of fasting, the next opportunity to feast would not be until Easter.
Traditionally it is a day dedicated to eating, when people meet in their homes or cafés with their friends and relatives and eat large quantities of sweets, cakes and other meals usually not eaten during Lent.
However, Fat Thursday is always celebrated on the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday and, therefore, just before the beginning of Lent.
