Shrove Tuesday

Categories: Christian festivals | Mardi Gras | Tuesday

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 New Orleans Mardi Gras.

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.

1 Food traditions
2 Shrove Tuesday in England
3 Dates
4 See also
5 External links

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Food traditions

In Ireland and Australia 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 alternativly drizzled with Golden syrup.

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.

Pancakes are eaten to use up milk and eggs, which are not eaten during Lent, and would otherwise spoil during this period.

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 Poland, and also in areas of the United States with large Polish populations, pączki are a common find.

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!

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Shrove Tuesday in England

A famous pancake race at Olney in Buckinghamshire has been held since 1445.

Many towns throughout England held traditional Shrove Tuesday football ('mob football') games dating as far back as the 12th century. The practice mostly died out with the passing of the 1835 Highways Act, which banned the playing of football on public highways, but a number of towns have managed to maintain the tradition to the present day including Alnwick in Northumberland, Ashbourne in Derbyshire (called the Royal Shrovetide Football Match), Atherstone in Warwickshire, and Sedgefield in County Durham.