What is Pancake or Shrove Tuesday?

 What is Pancake or Shrove Tuesday?


Credit: christianity.com


Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional social celebration day before the start of Lent – the 6 weeks of penance and fasting leading up to Easter – a period when Christians give up luxuries as part of fasting and penance to remember when Jesus went into the desert for 40 days to fast and pray. 


Dating back to the late Middle Ages, Shrove Tuesday was the last day of what is traditionally called "Shrovetide," the week preceding the beginning of Lent, a time of fasting and penance. The preparation for Lent included the confessing of sin and the reception of absolution. At this time, some areas of the Church abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others made exceptions for food like fish. For example, Pope St. Gregory (d. 604), writing to St. Augustine of Canterbury, issued the following rule: "We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs." These were the fasting rules governing the Church in England; hence, the eating of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.


Credit: History Extra


In England and Ireland, Pancakes have become such a popular Shrove Tuesday tradition that on this day, a whopping 52 million eggs are used in the UK alone! That’s 22 million more than your average day. In Iceland, it’s called "Sprengidagur", which means "Bursting Day." In Germany, this period is called "Fastnacht", or "Fasting Night" where the traditional food is cakes of fried potato dough are created, covered in rich corn syrup and served to family and friends. In Portugal the delicacy is Malasada. These are delicious fried doughnuts filled with a batter of eggs and milk and sprinkled with sugar. In Poland, another form of sweet rich doughnuts is traditionally eaten while in Sweden the food is Semla, a mouth-watering sweet bun made of eggs, sugar, flour and flour flavoured with almond paste and served with whipped cream. In parts of the United States, particularly Louisiana, "Mardi Gras", which when translated from the French means “Fat Tuesday.” 


Credit: History Extra


Pancake races are a super-fun Shrove Tuesday tradition. In this mad-cap activity, people race each other whilst tossing a pancake in a pan. Today, pancake races are often organised to raise money for charity and help those in need. 


Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies yearly and falls between February 3 and March 9. Shrove Tuesday was also the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients.


Shrove Tuesday Prayer

God Our Father, As we prepare to begin Lent, help us to remember what today, Shrove Tuesday, is truly about.

Thank You that you love all of us as your children and that through the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus, we can receive forgiveness for our sins. Help us to celebrate and live that message of forgiveness today by forgiving those who have sinned against you.

Lord, we know that you created the world and you created us. You created pancakes and you created our taste buds too! Enable us to enjoy ‘pancake day’ in a spirit of celebration of the goodness of your creation. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Source: sjchs.uk


References:

  1. Castelow, E. (2023, December 2). The history of Pancake Day. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pancake-Day
  2. Sanders, W. (1983). Library : Shrove Tuesday and Shrovetide. Arlington Catholic Herald. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=5877
  3. Writers, S. (2018, October 10). Shrove Tuesday. The Catholic Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/shrove-tuesday/
  4. Kane, P. (2024, January 3). Shrove Tuesday Facts. National Geographic Kids. Retrieved February 13, 2024, from https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/geography/general-geography/shrove-tuesday-facts/


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