Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent which is 40 days of fasting. That used to mean only one meal a day and full fasting on Friday. (It's been greatly relaxed in modern times but Fridays are still meat-free). Rich foods were not allowed. So the Tuesday before Lent, people of Poland used up their eggs, butter, sugar and fruit by treating themselves one last time before Lent began. Ash Wednesday is on February 22 this year. That means February 21st is Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday - and Paczki Day! Another popular Polish-American tradition is celebrated the week before (February 16 this year) with Fat Thursday or Tlusty Czwartek (pronounced Twoosti Chvartek).
But Paczki (punch-key) Day has become much more than a Polish-American tradition. And nobody does it better than Rudy's Strudel in Parma where lines will form early and continue all day. People will ask for paczkis, not realizing that paczki is already the plural of paczek (punch-ek).
Lidia Trempe - Favorite Paczki Award
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