Eaters pack away the paczkis on Fat Tuesday

Customers who walked into Wheeling's Sugar Hills Bakery on Tuesday wanted one thing - paczkis.

The bakery - which opened four weeks ago - sold about 2,000 on "Fat Tuesday," the famous pig-out day before Ash Wednesday and Lent.

"I would say the custard with the chocolate filling was the favorite, or maybe the strawberry or raspberry ones," said Margaret Orszula, the bakery's manager.

In Poland, paczki are eaten especially on Fat Thursday - the last Thursday before Lent. Many Polish Americans celebrate Paczki Day on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

Traditionally, the reason for making paczki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent.

Like most bakeries, Sugar Hills only makes paczkis one day a year - on Fat Tuesday.

"But if someone called and placed a special order, we could make them," Orszula said.

There is also a Sugar Hills bakery in Algonquin.