Shrove Tuesday

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A pancake

In the Christian calendar, Shrove Tuesday is the English name for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which in turn marks the beginning of Lent. In many solidly Roman Catholic countries in Europe and the Americas, this is the last day of Carnival. In some historically Francophone places it is Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday"; the most famous celebration under this name is the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

In Britain and Ireland, and Australia it is also known as Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday.

The origin of the name Shrove lies in the archaic English verb "to shrive" which means to absolve people of their sins. It was common in the Middle Ages for "shriveners" (priests) to hear people's confessions at this time, to prepare them for Lent.

Pancake Day

In Ireland, Australia, and Canada, Shrove Tuesday is known as Pancake Tuesday, while in Britain it is popularly known as Pancake Day. In both regions the traditional pancake is a very thin one (like a French crêpe) which is served immediately sprinkled with caster sugar (superfine sugar in the United States) and a dash of fresh lemon juice or alternatively drizzled with Golden syrup.

Pancakes are eaten to use up milk and eggs, which are not eaten during Lent, and would otherwise spoil during this period. Pancakes first appeared in English cookbooks in the 15th century. In Britain and Ireland in particular, a number of traditions have grown up around the eating of pancakes. Some people in Britain know the day only by the name "Pancake Day" and some are even unaware of the day's connection to Lent.

In the Canadian province of Newfoundland, household objects are baked into the pancakes and served to family members. Rings, thimbles, thread, coins, and other objects all have meanings associated with them. The lucky one to find coins in their pancake will be rich, the finder of the ring will be the first married, and the finder of the thimble will be a seamstress or tailor. Children have great fun with the tradition, and often eat more than their fill of pancakes in search of a desired object.

In Sweden Shrove Tuesday is known, just as in France, as "Fat Tuesday", or Fettisdagen in Swedish. The day is marked by eating traditional Swedish pastry, called Semla. Supposedly, the pastry is only to be eaten on this day but it is seasonally available from New Year until the beginning of Lent.

In Italy, lasagne is a traditional dish for this time of year.

In Iceland the day is known as "Sprengidagur" (Bursting day) and is marked with the eating of salt meat and peas.

In Poland, pa;czki are traditionally eaten on Fat Thursday or T?usty czwartek. However, in areas of Michigan with large Polish communitnies, they are eaten on "Fat Tuesday" due to French influence.

In Lithuania it is called Užgave.ne.s, and many pancakes (blynai), Lithuanian style doughnuts (spurgos) are eaten.

In Estonia it is called Vastlapäev, this day has to do with hopes for the coming year. On this day, families go sledding and eat split pea and ham soup. A toy is made from the ham bone by tying the bone to a string and spinning it around to make a whistling noise. There is a tale told that if you cut your hair on this day, it will grow fast and thick for the next year!

In Pennsylvania it is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition to eat a type of doughnut referred to as a Fastnacht. The Fastnacht would be made of all the sweets and other forbidden items in the household and then consumed on Fat Tuesday so that during Lent one was not tempted during the Fast.

The pancake bell

Pancakes were traditionally allowed to be made between the ringing of a curfew bell in the morning of Shrove Tuesday and its ringing again that evening. Housewives had that time in which to use up all the eggs and fat they had left over. Until the early 1900s, Shrove Tuesday was a half-day holiday, and the "Shriving Bell" was rung at eleven o'clock in the morning to remind people that the holiday had begun. It became known in some parts as the "Pancake Bell", and it is still rung today even though the day is no longer a holiday.


Dates

The date can vary from as early as February 3 to as late as March 9. Like Lent, the date is dependent on that of Easter.

Shrove Tuesday (and Mardi Gras) will occur on the following dates in the following years:

See also

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