Pancake Day, a.k.a. Shrove Tuesday, is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday (which is today), which is 40 days before Easter. During these 40 days Christians are supposed to give things up (like, to 'improve' their lifestyle) and to fast. It is traditional on this day to have pancakes, as pancakes are made up of fat, butter and eggs, which are traditionally forbidden during Lent. So Pancake Day is the last chance to indulge ourselves!
The reason why it is also called Shrove Tuesday is that the word 'shrive' means 'confess'. During the middle ages, people confess their sins on Shrove Tuesday so that they were forgiven before Lent began.
It is a day celebrated prominently in English-speaking countries so before I came to Macau, I actually didn't know there was a pancake day! The day is also named differently in different countries:
- UK, Ireland, Australia - Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day
- Brazil - Fat Tuesday (which is also the final day of Brazilian Carnival)
- USA and France - Mardi Gras (which means Fat Tuesday as well)
- Iceland - Bursting Day
Pancake races are also held nationwide in the UK to celebrate this day. The tradition is 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.
 |
| Image from Gazette Live |
Did you have pancakes yesterday? What did you have it with?
No comments:
Post a Comment