Wayfarers with a sweet tooth will find that they've got a treat in store this week, as Thursday 11th is Tłusty Czwartek (Fat or Shrove Thursday). Poles forget about their diet and eat huge quantities of doughnuts or pączki - pronounced pounchki.
Traditionally a day of indulgence at the tail-end of the pre-Lent Carnival, Fat Thursday has somehow evolved into a doughnut extravaganza. It is one of those days before the Ash Wednesday that is dedicated to eating a lot of fat food that will be forbidden to eat during Lent. The custom of making and eating doughnuts on this day stems from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy products before the fasting and abstinence of the Christian festival of Lent. Thus one can have one final "sweet treat" before that period begins. The celebration is equivalent to Pancake Tuesday in England, and Fetter Dienstag in Germany.
An impressive 100 million doughnuts (paczki) will be scoffed on the big day, averaging out at 2 and a half per person. Traditional families hold that chomping the doughnuts brings good luck for the rest of the year. Indeed, the more you munch, the better luck you'll have. You've never had a finer excuse to get stuck in.
First-time visitors to Krakow might try the much-loved Michalek bakery on ul. Krupnicza, their doughnuts are supposed to be the best in the city(be warned though, some shoppers buy more than 100 doughnuts per person and you may end up queuing up to five hours!!!). Remember that in Poland, doughnuts traditionally come with rose jam, or more modern version with advocat – you are advised to try both!
The one who came up with the idea that on Shrove Thursday everybody's supposed to eat as many doughnuts as possible and it's a good thing to do, should get an award. I've just eaten my fourth one today and believe me, it's not the last one! Who's gonna eat more?
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