Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) (moveable feast, February 8 in 2005)

Tomorrow (Ash Wednesday, also moveable, is February 9 in 2005) begins the 6-week period of fasting in the Christian world, known as Lent, the forty days' fast preceding Easter. Today is known to the French as Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), as it is the day that all foods may be eaten. Pancakes were popular as families ate the last of the eggs and butter that they were allowed before Lent.

The name ‘Shrove’ comes from the archaic English word ‘to shrive’, which means to confess or hear confessions of sin, a practice that was customary in the church on this day.

The custom of eating pancakes at Shrove Tuesday was popular in many parts of Europe, including many parts distant from Britain, such as the Zemaitija province of Lithuania where it was an important celebration. Pancakes were popular as families ate the last of the eggs and butter that they were allowed before Lent.

To the Germans it is known as Fasnacht. The word has also come to mean a diamond-shaped foodstuff that's eaten on the occasion: a yeast-raised potato pastry that's deep-fried like a doughnut. They were originally made and served on Shrove Tuesday to use up the fat that was forbidden during Lent ...

Read more at our Pancake Day page, in the Scriptorium, and have a great Pancake Day!