Farsang Fánks

It was a Wednesday morning and my students were buzzing with energy and questions! When do we get to go eat doughnuts? What kind of doughnuts will we get? Where are we going? Why are we going to eat doughnuts? Is it far away? What's Farsang? What is fánk?

The elementary students had received a special invitation to go to a Farsang celebration in our town at the folk museum cellar. Farsang is a Hungarian celebration of the end of winter and the beginning of the Lenten season. It's a period of feasting and celebrating. Fánk (fried doughnuts) are a traditional food during the season.

The town mayor and others arranged for all the local schools to come on different Wednesdays during Farsang to enjoy some fresh made doughnuts. We were delighted to be invited.

The walk to the Tájház (Folk museum cellar) was just a short two blocks away. I know the building as I see it every day. It's just across the street from my house. I have always wondered the purpose of this special building. My curious personality wanted to go inside but never knew to make it happen. Here was my opportunity to find out what was inside!

Inside the building looking up at the door

Upon entering the building we were immediately greeted with "Jo Napot" (Good day!) from several women who were bustling about making final preparations for our arrival. A sweet aroma filled the air.  We descended the stairs to the underground cellar room with a long table in the middle. The students found seats on the long benches. Bowls of peach jam lined the center of the table. Soon the ladies brought around napkins and cups. Next was the warm sweet tea which they cheerfully poured for the students. Finally, a large caldron was brought brimming to the top with fresh fried doughnuts sprinkled with powered sugar. Quickly hands from the my students were reaching to take a doughnut to enjoy!

Some chose to eat them slowly savoring the bits. Some ate them quickly and waited for more. Some topped them with the peach jam making a sticky but delicious mess as the jam ran down the sides or through the hole in the middle.  Just when we though they were done the ladies brought out the doughnut holes. Again hands eagerly reached for them and students popped them in their mouths. I enjoyed my fill of the light and not too greasy doughnuts too. They were even better the with peach jam to bring out the sweetness.

One of my students exclaimed, "The mayor must be grand!" as he happily ate his doughnut. Another student said with a bit of disappointment, "I thought the doughnuts would have chocolate frosting."
Soon one of the ladies serving came to me as asked in her broken English if I would like the recipe for the doughnuts. I eagerly accepted the opportunity to write it down on my phone. She graciously told me the recipe as I did my best to understand as we went back and forth between Hungarian and English. Thankfully a Hungarian co-worker came to my rescue to help translate.

It was time to leave. Students gathered their jackets and we said "nagyon szépen köszönjük" (we thank you very much) as we went up the stairs to leave. The ladies in the kitchen area came out to greet us. I handed them the card the students had made to thank them as I greeted them with kisses on the cheeks. (I even remembered to start on the right cheek and it wasn't awkward.)

My roommate Rachel with Fank

We left the Tájház with full bellies, an smiles on our faces as we walked back to school. The anxiety and anticipation of the celebration was over the students settled down and the day of school continued as normal. 

Despite the language barriers, it was a delight and honor to be invited to participate in this special event in our town. I hope that the aroma of Christ was evident in our interactions with our students and in how we interacted with our gracious hosts.

While the season of Farsang is officially over now that it is Lent, here is a link to the recipe for the doughnuts.