DETROIT – Many people across the country, and possibly the world, celebrate Fat Tuesday, a day of indulgence before the start of Lent.
But Michiganders know this day as Pączki Day.
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What was once just a tradition in Poland has become a Polish-American tradition celebrated in communities around the country -- especially here in Michigan, and especially right here in Metro Detroit. Polish immigrants who settled in the U.S. brought the annual tradition of Pączki Day, or Tłusty Czwartek, with them.
And, lucky for us Michiganders, a significant number of Polish immigrants settled in Hamtramck, Detroit, Saginaw and Grand Rapids, and have since shared their culture and treats with nearby communities.
How Pączki Day started
Each year, practicing Christians participate in a 40-day period of Lent leading up to Easter. During Lent, people of the Christian faith fast in one way or another to reflect on the events leading up to the death of Jesus Christ.
Today, this could look like giving up sweets or certain foods for a few weeks. Each person of faith may practice Lent differently.
But in Poland in the 1700s, this traditionally looked like eating only one meal each day, and completely fasting on Friday. During Lent, rich foods were not allowed.
And thus, Pączki Day was born.
According to Michigan State University’s 4-H Global & Cultural Education Extension, Pączki Day began in Poland during the mid-1700s under the reign of Augustus III.
On the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent, Polish people would use up foods like eggs, butter, sugar and fruit so they would not be wasted during their weekslong fasting period. In many instances, those ingredients would be used to make pączki, a rich, fried doughnut filled with fruit jelly or cream, and covered in powdered sugar or icing.
Families would indulge on the fatty treats on Fat Tuesday as a temporary farewell to sweets.
Though, in Poland now, pączki are more commonly eaten on what is known as Fat Thursday, the last Thursday of Carnival.
Pączki come to Michigan
Pączki Day is not necessarily celebrated everywhere in the U.S., but it is certainly popular in Polish-American communities around the country, particularly in some Midwest and Northeastern U.S. cities.
Polish people began immigrating to Hamtramck in the early 1900s in hopes of working at the new Dodge Main factory. Poles only made up about 10% of the city’s population in 2017, according to NPR, but at their peak, about 75% of Hamtramck’s population was comprised of Polish people.
Since then, Polish bakeries have been opening early on Pączki Day to share their doughy treats with people in Metro Detroit. In Hamtramck, some local favorites include New Martha Washington Bakery, or New Palace Bakery, which opened at 3 a.m. last year to sell pączki. Metro Detroiters line up around these bakeries all throughout Fat Tuesday to score a dozen of the Polish doughnuts.
Though the freshly made pączki are the best around, pączki can be found in grocery stores, delis and bakeries about a month before Fat Tuesday even arrives.