Paczki Day

The Thursday before Ash Wednesday is Paczki Day in Eastern European communities around the globe. In 2008, that day is January 31.

Paczki (pronounced “Poonch-key”) are round, jelly-filled doughnuts, prevalent in Polish and Czech bakeries two to three weeks prior to lent. The decadent sugar-dusted pastries were traditionally a last indulgence prior to the strict Polish Lenten season that forbade eating sugar.

In the United States, Paczki Day celebrations are held in Milwaukee, Detroit (particularly in the city’s Hamtramck neighborhood), Chicago, and in Cleveland’s Slavic Village.

^{(photo credit: ktpupp/cc license)}