Fat Thursday
| Fat Thursday | |
|---|---|
| Type | Christian, Cultural |
| Significance | Celebration period before fasting season of Lent |
| Celebrations | Feasting |
| Date | 6 days before Ash Wednesday, 52 days before Easter |
| 2017 date | February 23 |
| 2018 date | February 8 |
| 2019 date | February 28 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Carnival, Fat Tuesday |
Fat Thursday is a traditional Catholic Christian feast marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the next opportunity to feast would not be until Easter. Traditionally it is a day dedicated to eating, when people meet in their homes or cafés with their friends and relatives and eat large quantities of sweets, cakes and other meals usually not eaten during Lent. Among the most popular all-national dishes served on that day are pączki in Poland or berliner, fist-sized donuts filled with rose marmalade, and faworki, French dough fingers served with lots of powdered sugar.
Weiberfastnacht is an unofficial holiday in the Rhineland. At the majority of workplaces, work ends before noon. Celebrations start at 11:11 am. In comparison with Rosenmontag, there are hardly any parades, but people wear costumes and celebrate in pubs and in the streets.Beueler Weiberfastnacht ("women's carnival in Beuel") is traditionally celebrated In the Bonn district of Beuel. The tradition is said to have started here in 1824, when local women first formed their own "carnival committee". The symbolic storming of the Beuel town hall is broadcast live on TV. In many towns across the state of North Rhine Westphalia, a ritual "takeover" of the town halls by local women has become tradition. Among other established customs, on that day women cut off the ties of men, which are seen as a symbol of men's status. The men wear the stumps of their ties and get a Bützchen (little kiss) as compensation.
Greeks celebrate Tsiknopempti, which literally means "Thursday of the Smoke of Grilled Meat". It is celebrated 11 days before Clean Monday (which marks the start of the fasting period of Lent); since the week before Lent is considered meat-free (but not dairy-free), and Wednesday and Friday are generally considered days of fasting in the Greek-Orthodox Christian tradition, this makes Tsiknopempti one of the last opportunities for people to eat meat, so this has traditionally led to the day acquiring a special festive character. Greeks celebrate by taking to the streets and consuming large quantities of grilled meat, such as souvlaki. Many local town councils set up grills in central squares with music and festivities.
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Wikipedia