It's called Tłusty Czwartek, or as it's known in the Catholic community in its English translation, Fat Thursday. Not to be confused with Fat Tuesday, it’s a step ahead or an extra indulgence, so to speak.
It's an advantageous and acceptable week to eat donuts, also known as pączki ("POONCH-key"), a deep-fried dense rich yeast dough ball filled with either fruit, jams, or custards, usually coated in sugar or glaze.
Kymberlie Jedynak, front of house manager at Chrusciki Bakery, sat down with BTPM NPR this week and says it’s a busy time of year. She was asked, "Can you sense the excitement a little bit? Her reply, "Oh yeah, you come in, and most of the time everybody’s eyes light up as soon as you hit the bakery."
"We just offer so much goodness," Kymberlie added as she prepared for the 'Polish rush' at her bakery on Transit Rd.
This once-a-year celebration is a time for local Polish Catholics to indulge their tastebuds six days before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a time of fasting and abstinence on the Christian calendar.
It's seen as an opportunity to create greater balance in one’s life. Among the many Catholics around the world and locally, Western New York Catholic parishioner and religion teacher at Cardinal O'Hara High School, Jordan Ulett, plans on taking advantage of this time. He said he plans on eating no more than two to three donuts a day while also keeping things in perspective.
"Keeping it at a normal number, nothing too crazy but definitely taking advantage of the situation and the fact that we are going to be restraining ourselves and giving things up for Christ, to put ourselves in a different situation, how we look at things, what we are willing to do for Jesus and be willing to sacrifice certain things for His holy name,” Ulett said.
The more common pre-Lenten celebration is Fat Tuesday, happening on the eve of Ash Wednesday. At Chrusciki Bakery, Jedynak said they expect to be fully sold out of pączki by Monday.
