Fat Tuesday?

Fat Tuesday, fastnacht day, shrove Tuesday....whatever you call it...today was the day. So what is it? Good question. I have been partaking in fastnacht day for the last 15 years or so but I never really knew what exactly it was all about. I did it because people said you get to eat a doughnut. Usually bakeries make a special potato flour variety for just this day. I used to work in a bakery many many years ago. That is where I first remember hearing about this day.

But what is it? I've been told in many years past, over and over, that if you don't eat your fastnacht you have bad luck. Huh? Yeah..that's what I thought. So eat a doughnut, what can it hurt? Maybe your waistline. Today I wanted to know what REALLY is this day supposed to be about. The internet...you can learn anything and everything from there. Things you want to know, don't want to know, and things you aren't sure about at all. It can be a great research resource though if you do your homework. Don't trust just any old source. For this topic though I felt pretty confident in what I did learn.


"Fasnacht Day," more properly called "Fastnacht," is Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. This was the established beginning of the 40 days of fasting during Lent. It is a folk tradition dating to the Middle Ages, a Catholic custom that has survived in Protestant Pennsylvania.

On Monday, dough was put out in straw baskets for raising, then cut in squares and deep-fried in fat, not baked. Served with hot coffee at breakfast, the popular way to eat them was to split them in half and spread with honey. (Today they often come coated with confectioners’ sugar.)

In the old days, this was a chance for everyone to gorge on good doughnuts without reprise, for the lean days would now follow. And the proverbial "dunker" could dunk doughnuts to his stomach’s content. The making of fasnachts helped use up fat and sugar prior to fasting."

Okay...I guess that makes sense. What is lent? I've heard of it, I know people who practice it, but what is it, why do they practice it, what's the meaning, the purpose? Perhaps the reason I don't know the answers is because I have never practiced it. It seems to have originated within the Catholic faith. I am a Christian, but my faith, Baptist, did not practice Lent. One site states, "Like all Christian holy days and holidays, it has changed over the years, but its purpose has always been the same: self-examination and penitence, demonstrated by self-denial, in preparation for Easter."

Traditionally Lent is practiced for 40 days, beginning on what is called Ash Wednesday and continues to Easter. I am not going to get into detail about the history of Lent because it could literally take me a day to research and write it. If you want to do more I encourage you to do your own research. Knowledge is a powerful thing and a useful tool.