Alpena’s polish communities ‘pig out’ days before Lent

All Saints Parish hosted their annual Paczki Sale Saturday and Sunday at the St. Anne Parish Center. Volunteers prepared 35 batches of this pre-Lenten treat–or 9,000 paczki. Lent is a 40-day fasting period leading up to Easter. It’s a tradition for the Polish communities in Alpena to eat this special treat, and they’ve been doing it for over a century. Those who plan to fast during Lent cannot consume sugary sweets like paczki for more than a month. Some Poles says is an excuse to ‘pig out’. Hence–Fat Tuesday.