When is Fat Thursday?
Fat Thursday 2027 is on Thursday
Thursday, February 4, 2027
The Thursday before Ash Wednesday, 52 days before Easter Sunday. That's in 110 days.
until Fat Thursday begins, in your time zone
Fat Thursday, Tłusty Czwartek in Polish, is the last Thursday of Carnival before Lent, when people in Poland eat jam-filled pączki and other fried sweets. It began as a final feast before the Lenten fast.
About Fat Thursday
Fat Thursday is a pre-Lent food custom best known in Poland, where it is called Tłusty Czwartek. Because Lent was traditionally a season of fasting, the last days of Carnival were a chance to eat rich food and use up lard, butter, eggs, sugar and fruit before Ash Wednesday. Its date moves each year with Easter, landing in February or early March.
The star of the day is the pączek (plural pączki), a ball of yeast dough fried in fat, often lard, filled with jam or marmalade and topped with powdered sugar or icing. A rose-petal jam filling is the classic choice. Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio reports that pączki have been the Fat Thursday treat since the 17th century, and a popular superstition says skipping one brings a year of bad luck. Faworki, thin twisted strips of fried pastry dusted with sugar, are the other traditional sweet.
The day is a cultural and religious custom rather than an official holiday, and no founder is recorded. In Poland it is one of the busiest days of the year for bakeries, and many workplaces hand out pączki to staff.
Polish Americans usually move the custom to a different day. Michigan State University Extension explains that in the US, Pączki Day is generally celebrated on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, possibly because immigrant communities blended it with Mardi Gras festivities. Bakeries in cities with large Polish communities, such as Hamtramck, Detroit, Chicago and Buffalo, have sold pączki on that morning since the early 20th century.
Sources: Polskie Radio: Poles seek out pączki on 'Fat Thursday' (2020), Study in Poland (study.gov.pl): Food you shouldn't miss to eat during Fat Thursday in Poland, Michigan State University Extension: Pączki Day, a Polish tradition becomes an American tradition (2023). How we check dates.
How to mark Fat Thursday
- Fry a batch of pączki at home, or buy them from a Polish bakery, and try a traditional rose-jam filling.
- Make faworki, the crisp ribbon-shaped pastries, and dust them generously with powdered sugar.
- Bring a box of pączki to work or school and explain the Polish custom behind it.
- Learn the correct plural: pączki already means more than one, and a single doughnut is a pączek.
- Read about how Polish immigrant parishes and bakeries in the US kept pre-Lent traditions alive.
Fat Thursday dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Thursday, February 27, 2025 |
| 2026 | Thursday, February 12, 2026 |
| 2027 | Thursday, February 4, 2027 |
| 2028 | Thursday, February 24, 2028 |
| 2029 | Thursday, February 8, 2029 |
| 2030 | Thursday, February 28, 2030 |
| 2031 | Thursday, February 20, 2031 |
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Frequently asked questions
When is Fat Thursday 2027?
Fat Thursday 2027 is on Thursday, February 4, 2027. It falls on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, 52 days before Easter Sunday. In 2028, it is on Thursday, February 24, 2028.
What is the difference between Fat Thursday and Pączki Day?
In Poland, pączki are eaten on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent. Most Polish American communities hold Pączki Day on Fat Tuesday instead, the day before Ash Wednesday.
What are pączki?
Pączki are Polish doughnuts made from a rich yeast dough, fried, filled with jam, marmalade or custard, and topped with powdered sugar or icing.
Why is it called Fat Thursday?
The name refers to the rich, fatty foods people eat before the Lenten fast begins. In Polish, tłusty means fat or greasy.
Is Fat Thursday a public holiday?
No. Fat Thursday is an observance, not a public holiday, so schools, banks, government offices and most businesses keep their normal hours.