Pączki Day

11

Written on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 by Jessica

Today is Pączki Day (pronounced: pɔntʂkʲi) here in the U.S. You might think it's Fat Tuesday, but noooooo, not in Michigan.

A pączek (singular form), which is a traditional Polish doughnut, is really just a glorified jelly doughnut, but they're good. And seeing as how I'm Polish, I'm morally obligated to celebrate by eating a couple of them today.

We never celebrated Pączki Day when I was growing up. I never even heard of it until I was in my midtwenties. I'm not quite sure how that happened because I grew up in a Polish family in a Polish town. Maybe it was intentionally overlooked because so many of my Polish family members are forever dieting.

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11 Comments

  1. Joanne |

    That pronounciation looks worse than the actual word! I've heard of the holiday but we never celebrated it, even though I have Polish family.

     
  2. Jessica |

    Yes, the pronunciation is horrific. First of all, no one pronounces it correctly. The corrupted English forms are either PUNCH-key or POONCH-key. The true pronunciation (which I referenced in my post) is closer to POWNCH-key -- or perhaps a better spelling would be POUNCH-key. The -ch sound is just an approximation because the actual sound is one we don't have in English.

    The biggest source of confusion is the "ą." Most people think it's the letter "a" with an accent mark, but it's not. It's an entirely differently letter of the Polish alphabet and has no English counterpart.

    Blah, blah, blah. I'll shut up now and have another pączek.

     
  3. Christina |

    One of my co-workers brings them in but she was out today! They are so yummy!

     
  4. Jessica |

    Because I'm Polish, I figure I'm also morally obligated to bring in a dozen to work. :) So sorry that your coworker didn't show. You missed out! :(

     
  5. Alex |

    mmmmm doughnuts

     
  6. Anonymous |

    The pronoucination of that name reminds me of that evil squiggly thing ˜ spanish speaking folks attach to the N sometimes...that little symbol makes a total different sound...


    and I do agree with Alex..

    Jelly Doughnuts..hmmmmmmm

     
  7. Anonymous |

    Paczkis are different, per my understanding. I real one is not just a jelly donut. It has a lot more fatty ingredients and I am not talking about the filling. But you have to go to a "real" bakery. Not the bakery at Glen's. Try the one across from the hospital.
    love ya
    aunt elaine

     
  8. Jessica |

    I guess that's why I called them a glorified jelly doughnut. Maybe I should have said "fancy jelly doughnut" or "superfatty jelly doughnut." One pączek has 400 calories! And yes, I did pick them up from Johann's. The ones at Glen's shouldn't be allowed to be called pączki.

    So what's the story, Aunt Elaine. Did anyone ever mention Pączki Day when you were growing up?

     
  9. Anonymous |

    I do not even remember having Paczkis as a kid. But Aunt Cindy does.
    I asked Mom and she said she always made them before Lent started but we never referred to it as Fat Tuesday. Mom did not fill them with jelly. She rolled them in sugar.
    I do remember them now, after Aunt Cindy and Mom efreshed my memory, but I loved her cream puffs the best.
    aunt elaine

     
  10. Anonymous |

    oh oh, error
    it is refreshed not efreshed

    should proofread before sending
    aunt elaine
    p.s. Not sure if there is a spellcheck for these messages.

     
  11. Jessica |

    Nope, no spell check in Blogger, but if you get a Firefox web browser, it has spell check built right in. It's nice.

     

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