Nearly all Poles eat doughnuts on Fast Thursday

As many as 95 percent of Poles will eat doughnuts on Fat Thursday (Tłusty czwartek) according to a report released by GfK.  Some 20 percent will eat only one doughnut, 38 percent – two, while 37 percent will consume three or more. Outside of Fat Thursday, 15 percent of Poles consume pastries 2-3 times per week, while 75 percent eat them once a month. According to the report, the pastry market in Poland is worth PLN 3.5 billion. Fat Thursday is a traditional Catholic Christian feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival, when Polish-style doughnuts (pączki) are consumed.