Today is known as "Fat Tuesday," and thousands of Paczki are eaten across Michigan as part of a pre-Lenten tradition and as a Polish celebration.
89.1 WEMU's Lisa Barry spoke to 12th District Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, who shared the tradition today at home and in Washington, D.C. to carry on the tradition started over 40 years ago by her husband, Congressman John Dingell, who passed away last month.
In tribute to her late husband Congressman John Dingell, Debbie Dingell says she passed out some three thousand Paczki to friends and colleagues on this Fat Tuesday.
It's a tradition her husband started at least four decades ago to recognize his Polish heritage.
Debbie Dingell says she thinks of her husband often, and this was an especially poignant day for her continuing the tradition in his honor. Congresswoman Dingell says, "Rituals and traditions matter, and it's important to keep celebrating each other's different cultural backgrounds."
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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
