The season, in English

Fat Tuesday 2027

Fat Tuesday 2027 falls on Tuesday 9 February 2027 - in 195 days. In Sweden it has one delicious meaning: the semla.

What is Fat Tuesday?

Fat Tuesday - also known as Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, or, in Sweden, Fettisdagen - is the last day of Carnival and falls the day before Ash Wednesday. It marks a final celebration of rich food before the 40-day fasting season of Lent. The name says it plainly: one last indulgent, "fat" feast before the fast.

When is Fat Tuesday?

Fat Tuesday is always the day before Ash Wednesday, so it moves with Easter (and the moon), landing somewhere between early February and early March. In 2027 it is Tuesday 9 February 2027.

• Fat Tuesday 2027: 9 February
• Fat Tuesday 2028: 29 February
• Fat Tuesday 2029: 13 February

Fat Tuesday around the world

• Sweden (Fettisdagen): Swedes eat semlor - cardamom-spiced wheat buns filled with almond paste and whipped cream. That is what this whole guide is about.
• USA (New Orleans): Mardi Gras - huge parades, elaborate costumes, and king cakes.
• UK and the Commonwealth: Pancake Day, where people make pancakes to use up eggs, sugar, and butter before the fast.

The Swedish way: the semla

Sweden's contribution to Fat Tuesday is the semla: a wheat bun spiced with cardamom, split and filled with almond paste and vanilla-whipped cream, crowned with its own lid and a dusting of icing sugar. Enthusiasts eat them from Christmas right through to Easter, but Fat Tuesday is the day. Read more about what a Swedish semla is.

Find a semla in Sweden → Or, found one abroad? Add a semla outside Sweden.