Traditions · Poland

Polish Fat Thursday & Pączki

Every year, Poland eats approximately 100 million pączki on a single Thursday. The rose-jam doughnuts are not optional — the superstition is explicit: eat at least one, or risk bad luck for the entire year.

In brief

Tłusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday) is the last Thursday before Lent — five days before Shrove Tuesday. Poland's central tradition is eating pączki: rich, round doughnuts filled with rose-hip jam (róża), glazed with white icing and candied orange peel. Roughly 100 million are sold on this day alone. Eating at least one is considered essential for good luck; skipping it tempts misfortune for the rest of the year.

What is Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek)?

Tłusty Czwartek — Fat Thursday — is the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday and the de facto launch of the carnival season in Poland. It falls five days before Shrove Tuesday.

The name is direct: tłusty means “fat” or “greasy” in Polish, and the day is defined by eating fat-fried food in quantity. The Catholic tradition of Lent, when meat and rich foods were abstained from, meant the week before Ash Wednesday was the last opportunity for serious indulgence. In Poland, that indulgence crystallised around one food: the pączek.

In addition to the food, Fat Thursday was traditionally a time for dances and parties — known collectively as karnawał (carnival). The parties continued through the following days until Shrove Tuesday (called Ostatki, “the last [days]” in Polish), when the final revelry ended at midnight. Fat Thursday is the opening act.

What are pączki?

Pączki (singular: pączek, pronounced roughly “PUNCH-ek”) are deep-fried doughnuts — round, not ring-shaped — made from a heavily enriched dough and filled with sweet jam. They are among the richest pastries in the European carnival tradition.

The dough is made from flour, yeast, egg yolks (many of them), sugar, butter, and cream. A defining ingredient is a small amount of grain alcohol — spirytus — added to the dough. This prevents the fat from absorbing into the dough during frying, keeping the finished pączek light rather than greasy. The result is a pillowy, cloud-like interior inside a golden shell.

The classic filling is różana — rose-hip jam, with a distinctive floral, slightly tart flavour. Other fillings include prune jam (śliwka), custard (budyń), and marmalade. After frying, pączki are glazed with white fondant icing and decorated with a strip of candied orange peel — the final touch that distinguishes a proper pączek from an inferior imitation.

Pączki vs other carnival doughnuts

PolandPączkiRound, rose-jam filled, white icing glaze, candied orange peel
Germany / AustriaKrapfen / BerlinerRound, filled with jam or custard, dusted with icing sugar
Portugal / BrazilSonhos / Bolas de BerlimLighter dough, custard or jam filled, powdered sugar
Czech RepublicKoblihySimilar to pączki; rose-hip, plum, or custard fillings
HungaryFánkSofter, airier; jam or sour cream dipping sauce

Pączki Day in Chicago

Chicago has the largest Polish diaspora community outside of Poland. Its Pączki Day celebration — held on Fat Thursday — may now be the biggest outside of Warsaw.

The heart of Chicago's Polish community historically centred on the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue, Division Street, and Ashland Avenue — known as Polish Downtown. Bakeries in this area, including long-established Polish patisseries, open before dawn on Fat Thursday. Queues form in the dark, sometimes stretching around the block. The competition between bakeries for the title of best pączki is fierce and debated with the seriousness Poles bring to the subject at home.

Beyond the Polish community, Pączki Day has acquired wider Chicago participation — it is the kind of tradition that a city adopts when it recognises a good doughnut. Local news covers it annually. The day has become a point of cultural pride and culinary tourism.

When is Fat Thursday?

Tłusty Czwartek falls on the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday — always five days before Shrove Tuesday. The date shifts each year because it is tied to Easter.

Upcoming Fat Thursday dates

YearTłusty CzwartekShrove Tuesday
20274 February 20279 February 2027
202824 February 202829 February 2028
20298 February 202913 February 2029

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek)?+
Tłusty Czwartek — Fat Thursday — is the last Thursday before Lent and one of Poland's most enthusiastically observed food traditions. It falls five days before Shrove Tuesday and marks the formal beginning of the pre-Lenten carnival season. The central obligation of the day is to eat pączki: rich, deep-fried doughnuts filled with rose-hip jam and dusted with icing sugar and candied orange peel. Polish bakeries sell tens of millions of pączki on this single day.
What are pączki?+
Pączki (singular: pączek) are Polish fried doughnuts — not the ring-shaped variety but round, filled buns of enriched dough deep-fried until golden. The classic filling is rose-hip jam (róża), though prune, custard, and marmalade versions exist. They are finished with a white icing glaze and a strip of candied orange peel on top. The dough is notably rich: it contains egg yolks, butter, sugar, and often a splash of grain alcohol (spirytus) to prevent the fat from being absorbed during frying.
Why do Poles eat pączki on Fat Thursday?+
Fat Thursday marks the beginning of the last week of feasting before Ash Wednesday and the Lenten fast. In Catholic Poland, Lent traditionally meant no meat, eggs, or lard — so the week before was an opportunity for deliberate excess. Pączki were the ideal vessel: fried in lard, enriched with eggs and butter, filled with sweet jam. The superstition attached to them is explicit: eating at least one pączek on Fat Thursday brings good luck for the rest of the year. Not eating one risks bad fortune.
What is the difference between pączki and faworki?+
Both are traditional Fat Thursday treats. Pączki are round, filled doughnuts. Faworki (also called chrusty — "brushwood") are crispy, fried strips or ribbons of sweet pastry dusted with icing sugar. They are lighter and crispier than pączki. In some regions, faworki are the primary Fat Thursday food; in others, pączki dominate. Many Polish families eat both.
What is Pączki Day in Chicago?+
Chicago has one of the largest Polish communities outside Poland, centred historically on the neighbourhood of Polish Downtown (around Milwaukee and Division Streets). Pączki Day — celebrated on Fat Thursday — has become a major annual event in Chicago's Polish neighbourhoods. Bakeries such as the famous Delightful Pastries and New Polonia Bakery open at dawn and sell thousands of pączki. Queues form before sunrise. Chicago's Pączki Day is arguably now the biggest Tłusty Czwartek celebration outside of Poland itself.
How many pączki are eaten on Fat Thursday in Poland?+
Polish bakeries and confectioners collectively sell roughly 100 million pączki on Fat Thursday — approximately 2.6 per person in the country. It is by a wide margin the single biggest day in the Polish bakery industry. Warsaw bakeries begin taking pre-orders weeks in advance, and long queues outside patisseries are a defining image of the day.

More Shrove Tuesday traditions

→Shrove Tuesday around the world — the full guide→German Karneval & Fasching: Rosenmontag, Krapfen & more→The world's wildest Shrovetide feasts→Mardi Gras: New Orleans, Venice & Rio Carnival

Sources & further reading

  • Tłusty Czwartek — Wikipedia (Polish edition)
  • Polish Fat Thursday: 100 million pączki in one day — Notes from Poland
  • The History of the Pączek — Polish Culture Institute
  • Chicago's Fat Thursday — Chicago Tribune food coverage

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