In one of the more curiously-named religious celebrations, ‘Pancake Day’ is observed every year by many Christians, and always on a Tuesday.
Pancake Day – or ‘Shrove Tuesday’ as it is officially known – is a day that happens 41 days before Easter Sunday, and represents the last day before the traditional 40-day fast known as ‘Lent’. This year, Shrove Tuesday falls on February 21, 2023.
Shrove Tuesday serves a dual purpose of allowing Christians to repent of any sins they might have made before the start of Lent on the next day Ash Wednesday and giving them the opportunity to engage in a last round of merriment before the start of the somber Lent season.
Dating back in the 16th Century, the traditional Lent fast would see Christians give up consuming rich, tasty foods such as butter, eggs, sugar and fat (some Christians continue to do so, in fact). Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to eat them, and the combination of the ingredients makes pancakes.
The word ‘shrove’ is a form of the English word ‘shrive’, which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of Confession and doing penance.
Across the world the tradition of the beginning of Lent takes various forms and names.
In Latin countries Pancake Day / Shrove Tuesday is better known as ‘Mardi Gras’ (which translates to ‘Fat Tuesday’). Famously in the US city of New Orleans, Mardi Gras is celebrated by colourful street parties and parades with live music and elaborate costumes.
Another famous celebration around this time in Brazil where the annual ‘Rio Carnival’ is observed with multiple days of street parties and celebrating.