Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday
Observed by	Followers of many Christian denominations
Type	Christian
Date	Tuesday in seventh week before Easter
2012 date	February 21
2013 date	February 12
Related to	Ash Wednesday Mardi Gras

Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany and parts of the United States. Shrove Tuesday is linked to Easter therefore its date changes on an annual basis.

In most traditions the day is known for the eating of pancakes before the start of lent. Pancakes are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.

Terminology

• In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Shrove Tuesday is commonly known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day.
• All Catholic and some Protestant countries traditionally call the day before Ash Wednesday Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. The name predated the Reformation and referred to the common Christian tradition of eating special rich foods before the fasting season of Lent.
• In Ireland, it is known as Máirt Inide (meaning, in Irish, Shrovetide Tuesday), and Pancake Tuesday.
• For German American populations, such as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it is known as Fastnacht Day (also spelled Fasnacht, Fausnacht, Fauschnaut, or Fosnacht).
• In Iceland the day is known as Sprengidagur (Bursting Day) and is marked by eating salted meat and peas.
• In Lithuania the day is called Užgavėnės. People eat pancakes (blynai) and Lithuanian-style doughnuts called spurgos.
• In heavily Polish Catholic areas of the United States, such as Chicago and the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, Michigan, Pączki Day is celebrated with pączki-eating contests, music and other Polish food.
• However, in Poland this celebration falls on the Thursday which precedes Ash Wednesday and is called Fat Thursday.

Traditions

Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. The liturgical fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

In Canada, among Anglicans, Lutherans, some other Protestant denominations, including ethnic British communities, as well as Catholics, this day is also known as Pancake Tuesday, as it is customary to eat pancakes.

In Newfoundland and Labrador small tokens are frequently cooked in the pancakes. Children take delight in discovering the objects, which are intended to be divinatory. For example, the person who receives a coin will be wealthy; a nail that they will be (or marry) a carpenter, and such.

Festivities

In England, as part of community celebration, many towns held traditional Shrove Tuesday football ('Mob football') games, dating as far back as the 12th century. The practice mostly died out in the 19th century, after the passing of the Highway Act 1835, which banned playing football on public highways. A number of towns have maintained the tradition, including Alnwick in Northumberland, Ashbourne in Derbyshire (called the Royal Shrovetide Football Match), Atherstone (called the Ball Game) in Warwickshire, Sedgefield (called the Ball Game) in County Durham, and St Columb Major (called Hurling the Silver Ball) in Cornwall.

Shrove Tuesday was once known as a 'half-holiday' in England. It started at 11:00am with the signalling of a church bell. On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake. The pancake race remains a relatively common festive tradition in the UK, and England in particular, even today. Participants with frying pans race through the streets tossing pancakes into the air, catching them in the pan whilst running. In Olney today, a pancake race still takes place every year on Shrove Tuesday.

A pancake race

The tradition of pancake racing had started long before that. The most famous pancake race, at Olney in Buckinghamshire, has been held since 1445. The contestants, traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race to the finishing line while tossing the pancakes as they go. The winner is the first to cross the line having tossed the pancake a certain number of times. Traditionally, when men want to participate, they must dress up as a housewife (usually an apron and a bandanna).

Since 1950 the people of Liberal, Kansas, and Olney have held the "International Pancake Day" race between the two towns. The two towns' competitors race along an agreed-upon measured course. The times of the two towns' competitors are compared, to determine a winner overall. After the 2009 race, Liberal was leading with 34 wins to Olney's 25. A similar race is held in North Somercotes of Lincolnshire in eastern England.

Scarborough celebrates by closing the foreshore to all traffic, closing schools early, and inviting all to skip. Traditionally, long ropes were used from the nearby harbour. The town crier rings the pancake bell, situated on the corner of Westborough (Main Street) and Huntress Row.

The children of the hamlet of Whitechapel, Lancashire keep alive a local tradition by visiting local households and asking "please a pancake", to be rewarded with oranges or sweets. It is thought the tradition arose when farm workers visited the wealthier farm and manor owners to ask for pancakes or pancake fillings.

In Finland and Sweden, the day is associated with the almond paste-filled semla pastry.

Dates

The date of Shrove Tuesday is dependent on that of Easter, a moveable feast based on the cycles of the moon. The date can vary from as early as 3 February to as late as 9 March.

Shrove Tuesday will occur on the following dates in coming years:

2012 — 21 February 2013 — 12 February 2014 — 4 March 2015 — 17 February 2016 — 9 February 2017 — 28 February 2018 — 13 February 2019 — 5 March 2020 — 25 February 2021 — 16 February 2022 — 1 March 2023 — 21 February 2024 — 13 February 2025 — 4 March

2026 — 17 February 2027 — 9 February 2028 — 29 February 2029 — 13 February 2030 — 5 March 2031 — 25 February 2032 — 10 February 2033 — 1 March 2034 — 21 February 2035 — 6 February 2036 — 26 February 2037 — 17 February 2038 — 9 March 2039 — 22 February

2040 — 14 February 2041 — 5 March 2042 — 18 February 2043 — 10 February 2044 — 1 March 2045 — 21 February 2046 — 6 February 2047 — 26 February 2048 — 18 February 2049 — 2 March 2050 — 22 February

See also

• Bonfire of the Vanities
• Carnival of Madeira
• Clean Monday
• Collop Monday
• Hurling the Silver Ball
• Mardi Gras
• Mardi Gras in Mobile — United States French-Catholic festival
• Fasnachts
• Fat Thursday
• Maslenitsa
• Nickanan Night
• Powder Day
• Royal Shrovetide Football
• Shrove Monday

External links

• Wilson's Almanac: Sources and quotes concerning Shrove Tuesday customs
• Shrove Tuesday pancake recipe