On 21st February 2023, Britain celebrated Pancake Day. After 20 years living in UK, this was the first time I was able to understand the festivity. It occurred to me that since this is very British tradition, so many people around the world would be curious as to the reason behind this, including me.
Pancake Day is also known around the world as Shrove Tuesday (in English which means Absolution), Mardi Gras (in French which means Fat Tuesday), and Carnival (in Spanish which means Farewell to meat).
The tradition of celebrating Shrove Tuesday started in the Middle Ages with many societies eating pancakes to finish all their perishable products like butter, eggs, and fat before the beginning of Lent. The British Christians adopted this tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday by the 16th century, hence the colloquial name of Pancake Day.
Traditional the Shrove Tuesday served a dual purpose the first for Christians to repent of any sins that they made before the starting of Lent and second to finish all the perishables of their cupboards. Currently, Pancake Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some parts of the Commonwealth, as it is traditional to eat pancakes as a meal.
Beside the eating of the pancakes, there has been many other ways that people celebrate this day. My company decided to have a challenge of most tosses of pancake in one minute, with the record standing at 140 flips. There are also pancake races which is done while tossing a pancake in a pan, pancake tower challenge, and of course the pancake eating competitions.
Although, the tradition of eating pancakes and experimenting with yummy toppings and activities sounds like a brilliant idea. It is important to remember that there is a great significance associated with it. I have always argued that it is fun to share in the celebrations of other religions that look so fun, like having a Christmas tree in December. However, I found that if you do not understand the meaning behind this and you just do it because it looks good in your house, you are mocking everyone’s religious beliefs. Since for me the issue of the Christmas tree is a big one, that is why before sharing in the tradition I research the significance of and if it matches your beliefs, share in the tradition.
Pancake Day is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of the fasting period lasting for 40 days making this a movable Christian tradition.
However due to the many denominations of Christians the fasting period, also called Lent or Quadragesima, varies. The beginning is for Western Christians on Ash Wednesday and for Eastern Christians on Clean Monday. The ending is broad for Roman Catholics on Maundy Thursday; for Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Moravian, and Western Orthodox on Holy Saturday; and for Eastern Christians on Lazarus Saturday.
Therefore, my recommendation is now that you know about this tradition and if you share in the belief, then enjoy the pancakes.
In my case, I used to see this celebration as pointless as to what is the point of eating pancakes one day, as you can eat them any time. However, after this year because of the research I will continue celebrating Pancake Day in honour of my new home and since I have always followed this tradition but for me has always been called Carnaval.
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