History of Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is an ancient religious festival day dating back to the early Christian times. It is the day before Ash Wednesday, which itself is the commencement date of Lent.

Lent is a time of self-discipline and denial. Throughout the 40 days of Lent, people are called to fasting and prayer. However, the week preceding Lent has become a time of merrymaking, culminating on Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday.

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the custom of ringing the “shriving bell” to summon the people to church to be “shriven” – that is, to confess their sins at the beginning of Lent.

At this time, certain foods are given up for the duration of Lent, such as eggs, milk, meat and rich buttery dishes. On Shrove Tuesday, families eat up all the rich foods left in their pantries. One way they use up the eggs, milk and fats in the house is to add flour to make special pancakes!

In England, the popularity of cooking pancakes on this day caused Shrove Tuesday to be called Pancake Day.

Shrove Tuesday Dates in the future:

2013 - 12 February

2014 - 4 March

2015 - 17 February

2016 - 9 February

2017 - 28 February

2018 - 13 February

2019 - 5 March

2020 - 25 February

Nobody knows just how long people have been making and eating pancakes. But you could almost call the flat bread of primitive families of twelve thousand years ago a pancake. It was made by grinding grains and nuts, and mixing them with water or milk. The mixture was then shaped into flattened cakes and baked on the hot stones surrounding the fire.



The making and eating of pancakes has always been much the same: a stimulating, exhilarating and happy time. Pancakes just seem to affect people that way! So, it’s not too surprising that two happy events, pancakes and festivals, are often linked together.



In England, there are several celebrations on Shrove Tuesday, but perhaps the best known one is the Pancake Day Race at Olney in Buckinghamshire, which has been held since 1445.