What is Shrove Tuesday?
If you live outside the UK, you probably haven’t heard of Shrove Tuesday. Pancakes were originally eaten on Shrove Tuesday — the Tuesday before Lent — to use up eggs and fat before the fast of Lent. Today, these pancakes are generally made of eggs, milk and flour. The word “shrove” comes from “shrive,” meaning “the confessions of sins” — something done in preparation for Lent.
“Shrove Tuesday” is the day before the opening of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The word shrove comes from the verb “to shrive,” which means, “to impose penance on (a sinner); to grant absolution to (a penitent); to hear the confession of (a person)” (source). The day is called “Shrove Tuesday” in honor of the custom for Catholics of going to confession in preparation for Lent. The day is also sometimes called “Fat Tuesday” or “Pancake Tuesday” in honor of the ancient custom for Catholics of using up their dairy products in a time when the laws of abstinence from meat during Lent were far more strict for Latin-rite Catholics.
Also, do you have any idea why my parish has always had a pancake dinner on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday? Shrove Tuesday is the last day of what traditionally was called “Shrovetide,” the week preceding the beginning of Lent. The word itself, Shrovetide, is the English equivalent for “Carnival,” which is derived from the Latin words carnem levare, meaning “to take away the flesh.” (Note that in Germany, this period is called “Fasching,” and in parts of the United States, particularly Louisiana, “Mardi Gras.”) While this was seen as the last chance for merriment, and, unfortunately in some places, has resulted in excessive pleasure, Shrovetide was the time to cast off things of the flesh and to prepare spiritually for Lent. Actually, the English term provides the best meaning for this period. “To shrive” meant to hear confessions. In the Anglo-Saxon “Ecclesiastical Institutes,” recorded by Theodulphus and translated by Abbot Aelfric about AD 1000, Shrovetide was describe
Shrove Tuesday refers to the day before Ash Wednesday, and is the last day before the beginning of Lent. Though shrove derives from the word shrive or shriven, meaning to repent, or to have repented, Shrove Tuesday is not typically associated with repentance. Instead it is usually a day for great and gluttonous celebrations that will use up cooking ingredients to make treats many will forgo during Lent. Shrove Tuesday is known by many different names in different cultures. In the US and in Latin American countries, Shrove Tuesday is better known as Mardi Gras. Celebrations are extreme, with many indulging in lots of fancy treats, watching carnival parades, or merely taking to the streets in an joyful party atmosphere. Most in England, Ireland and Australia celebrate Shrove Tuesday as Pancake Day. Pancakes are enjoyed and eaten with sweet toppings. They use up luxury ingredients like eggs and flour that might be given up during Lent. Like Mardi Gras, many people who do not observe Lent
