Porch Notes
Paczki Day: Hamtramck's Donut Holiday
History and culture
In most of the country, the Tuesday before Lent is “Fat Tuesday.” In metro Detroit, it’s Paczki Day — and in Hamtramck it’s practically a civic festival. A paczki (say it “POONCH-kee”) is a rich Polish donut, deep-fried and filled with fruit or custard, dusted in sugar. Traditionally, bakers made them to use up the eggs, lard, and sugar in the house before the fasting of Lent began.
The tradition came to Michigan with Polish immigrants, who poured into Hamtramck — a small city completely surrounded by Detroit — in the early 1900s to work at the giant Dodge Main auto plant. The numbers are staggering: Hamtramck went from about 3,500 people in 1910 to some 48,000 by 1920, and was more than 80% Polish by 1930. Those families brought their Lenten customs with them, and the paczki became a Detroit institution.
Today, Hamtramck bakeries fling open their doors before dawn — some by 3 a.m. — and lines wrap around the block. The tradition has spun off some wonderfully Detroit variations, too: coney dogs served on glazed paczki “buns,” paczki beer, and paczki-eating contests. Hamtramck’s Polish population has shrunk and diversified over the decades, but for one sweet day a year, the old neighborhood fills back up.
Where to see it
Hamtramck bakeries like New Palace Bakery and New Martha Washington draw the Paczki Day crowds; by the week before Lent, you'll find paczki in grocery stores all over southeast Michigan.