(Beaver Falls, Pa.) It’s Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday in the area. Here in Beaver County and our surrounding  area that  means it’s time for paczki.

Local bakeries and grocery stores make thousands of paczki, a traditional Polish doughnut that is filled and fried just for Fat Tuesday.

Pączki are a specialty pastry reserved for once a year in honor of Fat Tuesday. It is a Catholic day of celebration as it is the precursor to the Lenten season, and the last day to indulge in foods before the traditional 40-day period of fasting before Easter.

Tomorrow February 16, 2021 is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. Easter  Sunday is April 4 this year.