Pączki Day doesn’t have just one fixed global date each year; it’s tied to the Christian pre‑Lent calendar, so the exact day changes.

The short answer for “when is Paczki Day?”

  • In many U.S. Polish‑American communities (especially the Midwest), “Pączki Day” is celebrated on Fat Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday.
  • In Poland, the traditional Pączki Day is Fat Thursday , the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.

Dates in the next couple of years

  • 2026 (U.S. / Fat Tuesday style Pączki Day):
    • Fat Tuesday falls on February 17, 2026.
  • 2026 (Polish / Fat Thursday Pączki Day):
    • Fat Thursday falls on February 12, 2026.

Here is a quick HTML table you can reuse:

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Year</th>
      <th>Tradition / Region</th>
      <th>Date</th>
      <th>Day of week</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>2026</td>
      <td>Poland (Fat Thursday)</td>
      <td>February 12, 2026</td>
      <td>Thursday</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2026</td>
      <td>U.S. “National Pączki Day” (Fat Tuesday)</td>
      <td>February 17, 2026</td>
      <td>Tuesday</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Mini “Quick Scoop” context

  • Pączki Day is a pre‑Lenten blowout: people enjoy rich, fried, jelly‑filled pastries before the fasting and restraint of Lent begin.
  • In Polish‑American cities like Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland, bakeries open early and long lines form just for pączki.
  • Some calendars and sites list it by the Fat Thursday date, others by the Fat Tuesday date, so if you’re planning content, it’s safe to mention both and clarify the tradition you mean.

If your audience is U.S.-based and searching “when is paczki day,” they’re almost always thinking of Fat Tuesday (National Pączki Day) rather than Fat Thursday.

TL;DR:
“Paczki Day” is the Thursday before Ash Wednesday in Poland and the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in much of the U.S.; in 2026 that’s February 12 (Poland) and February 17 (U.S.).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.