In Catholic and Protestant countries, Fastnacht Day is also called "Fat Tuesday," or "Mardi Gras," a name which predates the Reformation and referred to the Christian tradition of eating rich foods before the Lenten fast began.

Making and eating fastnachts was a way to consume all the fats, such as butter and lard, kept in the house pantry, as these rich ingredients were seen as lavish and were not supposed to be eaten during the Lenten season.

Fastnachts were a winter staple of the Dutch housewife and could be eaten long past Ash Wednesday, even though originally fried in pork lard, the day before Lent.

Shrove Tuesday fastnacht baking was a way of life in which the Pennsylvania Dutch people celebrated its ethnicity, more than going to church; it was a folk-life practice that was more personal.

[3] In today's time several large corporations are producing fastnachts in a unique way: the substitution of Coca Cola for the milk or coffee of the original recipe.