This may be another reason why the peak day of Polish Carnival is six days before Lent. You want to put some buffer between the fat-laced revelry and the mandatory fast. And don't it's only a Polish idea. Fat Thursday is also observed in Italy (''giovedì grasso''), Spain (''jueves lardero''), Swabia (''Schmotziger Donnerstag''), Luxembourg (''Fetten Donneschdeg'') and Picardy (''jeudi jeudyou''). In the Catholic South Slavic countries (Croatia and Slovakia) the peak of the Carnival falls on Shrovetide Sunday. In the Nordic countries the biggest parties are held on Shrove Monday, known as ''Fastelavn''. On the same day people also have fun in the Rhineland, where they celebrate ''Rosenmontag'' (usually translated as "Rose Monday" even though it actually comes from the dialectical verb "''roose''", meaning "to party"). In Cornwall the day is known as "Peasen Monday", a day for eating peasoup, while in other parts of England it's "Collop Monday", observed by eating pork collops. But in most countries, including France, the Carnival's peak day is Shrove (or Fat) Tuesday.
Francuscy koloniści zwyczaj ten zawieźli do Ameryki, gdzie najsłynniejsza jest dziś nowoorleańska wersja Tłustego WtorkuFrench colonists have brought their tradition to North America. Today it's the New Orleans version of Fat Tuesday, zwana z francuska or ''mardi grasMardi Gras''in French, wymthat is best known.: Women from all over the United States use this occasion to come to bare their personal little packages of goodness (not to be confused with ''mardi grabeignets'', or actual local doughnuts). Kobiety z całych Stanów zjeżdżają się z tej okazji na ulicę Burbońską (''on Bourbon Street'') w Nowym Orleaniein return for strings of green, aby ku radości stojących na zabytkowych balkonach mężczyzn obnażyć swoje osobiste pączusie (nie mylić z miejscowymi ''beignets'', wymyellow and purple beans tossed down to them by men standing on balconies.: What a beautiful custom! But still not as good as Polish ''be-niepączki'', które są faktycznie odmianą pączków) w zamian za rzucane im z góry sznury zielonych, żółtych i purpurowych paciorków. Piękne święto, choć polskich pączków i tak nie przebije. W każdym razie wygląda na to, że w owym kulturowym tyglu, jakim są Stany Zjednoczoneis it? Anyway, doszło do pomieszania tradycji francuskiej z polską: Tłusty Czwartek przeniesiono na ten sam dzieńit seems that in the great melting pot of cultures that the United States are, co ''mardi graspączki''come from Poland, ale za to nowoorleańskie ''beignets'' zastąpiono polskimi ''punczkami''but they are eaten on the French Fat Tuesday.
== From cannonballs to sponges ==