Last week, we celebrated the traditional Polish Fat Thursday, and today in Iceland is the day of sweet rolls, i.e. Bolludagur.
On this day, the people of Iceland eat thousands of sweet cream cakes, most of which resemble Polish puffs and are glazed with chocolate or caramel, although other varieties are also available.
For bakers, it is undoubtedly the busiest day of the year, and today there are lines in front of every bakery.
Confectioners admit that many lovers of sweets bought their puffs or empty cakes already at the weekend, because they did not want to wait until today. Instead of buying puff or buns with filling, you can buy the cake itself and fill it with cream, jam and pour melted chocolate over it.
“We bake sweet cakes, puffs in tens of thousands” – Vilhjálmur Þorláksson, managing director, told Morgunblaðið.
“We started slowly last week as people tend to extend the celebration and start celebrating earlier. The weekend has been the busiest and everything is going really well. “
Distribution to bakeries and workplaces that traditionally order sweets for their employees on that day requires a lot of planning and work, for which additional staff must be hired.
The custom of celebrating Bolludagur is believed to have been brought to Iceland by Danish and Norwegian bakers who settled here in the late 19th century.
Bolludagur is the first of three days this week. Tomorrow, Tuesday, is Sprengidagur ie “Explosive day” it is a day of binge eating but salty delicacies. According to tradition in Sprengidagur, pea and salted lamb soup are eaten for dinner. Wednesday is Öskudagur, or Ash Wednesday, on this day children usually dress in costumes and visit various businesses and stores in the hope of getting sweets. However, this year major shopping malls, due to COVID-19, have decided to cancel all the celebrations that usually took place that day.
Source: Yle