Fastnacht anyone?

[Marcia K]

Tuesday was Fastnacht Day in PA. The tradition was for PA Dutch housewives to use up all of the fat in the house on the day before Lent. The Fastnachts are heavy yeast-laden donuts fried in fat. (Today they are sold by churches as fundraisers and many local grocery stores sell them as well). Someone brought some to a staff meeting on Tuesday morning and when I walked back to my seat someone had placed one there. Of course I didn't want to be anywhere near that gluten-filled thing but I had to laugh when one of my co-workers said, "It's gluten free." I really didn't care for them very much when I could eat them because it was like having a brick in my stomach so I really didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. It's all in a day in the life of an MC'er.

[Mrs. Poopy Jeans]

Hi! Just wanted to thank you for your definition of a Fastnacht. I grew up with the nickname of " Donut" because my maiden name is Fosnight...an English derivative of Fastnacht. When I got married 34 years ago, I became a Hay Farmer which is what my last name, Hooyman, means in Dutch. My grandma was a Clem. Lots of those in PA Dutch country.

[Adelaide]

I haven't heard of Fashtnacht but I just recently visited Holland and my goodness the food was lovely. They do have another donut thing called 'Oliebollen.' but I am the same with donuts, I don't like them much so not hard to resist. I visited my relatives there and one of the first things they gave me was a nice looking cake which I turned down. I felt a bit bad but I knew that there was no way I could handle it. The dutch cheeses were hard to resist but I managed. The momentary pleasure is just not worth the 'end' results Probably the raw herring would have been fine to eat but somehow I managed to resist that too

[Marcia K]

Hi, Mrs. That's interesting about your name. I know someone whose nickname was Little Donut because his last name is Dohner. Linda, I totally agree - no food is worth what the "end" result might be....I rarely try anything new!