Pancake in a Pan – Traditions of Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes.
On Shrove Tuesday in 1445, a woman in Olney, Buckinghamshire, was so busy making traditional pancakes, she lost track of the time. Too late to change into fresh clothes, she took off to church with the frying pan still in her hand. The incident gave rise to the traditional Pancake Day races in the UK, the most famous of which is still the one in Olney. Most of the participants are women. They wear a scarf and apron in memory of the lady-with-the-frying-pan from long ago, and they are required to toss a pancake in their frying pan at both the starting and finishing lines.
– Men who take part have to drag up, wearing a scarf and apron.
Outdoor games are not the only traditions associated with Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of lent. ’To be shriven’ means to get absolution for your sins. In the past Christians would go to confession on or around this day and do penance for their sins. Since the forty days of lent leading up to Easter were considered fasting days, people would eat up all the rich foods which didn’t keep on Shrove Tuesday.
The eggs, flour and milk that make up the pancake were once popular items for Christians to give up during Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday, and there are many weird and wonderful Shrovetide traditions. Cue, pancake tossing as another Shrove Tuesday tradition that survives to this very day.
Next try this Pancake Day Quiz …Good Luck
