Pazcki day- eat and celebrate

Pączki (Polish: pączki,)are traditional Polish doughnuts. Pączki is the plural form of the word pączek  in Polish, but many English speakers use paczki as singular and paczkis as plural. A pączek is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with Plums or other sweet filling. A traditional filling is marmalade made from fried rose buds. Fresh paczki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of fried orange zest. Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of the August III under influence of French cooks who came to Poland at that time, pączki dough baked in Poland has been improved, so that pączki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient Pączki Day Traditionally, the reason for making paczki has been to use up all the lard, sugar and fruit in the house, which are forbidden during Lent. They are eaten especially on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent (Polish: Tłusty czwartek, not to be confused with Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday). In Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and South Bend Paczki Day is more commonly celebrated on Fat Tuesday instead of Fat Thursday. 

Although Bismarcks and Jelly-filled doughnuts are the more commonly used names for the pastry in the United States, Polish immigrants have popularized this type of preserve-filled doughnut in some parts of the country, especially in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit. Hamtramck is known to be the only U.S. city to organize an annual Paczki-Day (Fat Tuesday) Parade, and lines can be seen up to 24 hours before the deep-fried delights go on sale at the numerous local bakeries. Many bars in town open early in the morning, and provide free entertainment, a party atmosphere, and even Paczki-clad mascots. The Paczki-Day celebration in this town is even larger than many areas have for St. Patrick's Day.

Here, prunes are considered the traditional filling, but many others are used as well, including lemon, strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry, and rarely apple. Due to French influence, paczki are eaten on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) rather than on Fat Thursday. In the large Polish community of Chicago, and other large cities across the Midwest, paczki day is also celebrated annually by immigrants and locals alike. Home-made paczki glazed with fondant. Home-made paczki glazed with fondant. Another cultural phenomenon is the emergence of the "Pączki Challenge." A eating contest in which individuals attempt to race from one side of a room (non - standard) while eating as much or as many Pączki as they can before reaching the other side. The person to reach first and having eaten the most Pączkis wins. Typically a ratio of 1 Pączki for every 10 steps is considered competitive.