Across Canada, the U.K., Ireland and Australia, on the last Tuesday before Lent — the 40-day period Christians mark in the lead-up to Easter — millions of frying pans get pulled out, placed on stoves, heated up and lined with fat to fry stacks of pancakes.
It's been known as Shrove Tuesday since medieval times in England. Traditionally, it was a day for Christians to confess their sins and be absolved by a priest before the beginning of Lent. It was also a day to rid the house of the rich foods that you were supposed to give up during the Lenten period — foods like milk, eggs and fats.
The rich Shrovetide pancakes were eaten as a symbol of self-indulgence before the sacrifices of the fast. The pancakes were fried in butter or fat and served flat or rolled and sprinkled with powdered sugar and topped with preserves or doused with alcohol.
The church bells that rang early on Shrove Tuesday morning summoning everyone to confession became known as Pancake Bells. They were also a reminder to use up forbidden foods before Lent.
Tradition has it that in 1444, a housewife in the village of Olney, England, was in such a hurry to get to the shriving service at church that she raced out of her home still clutching a frying pan containing a pancake. Thus began the very English tradition of pancake races across the country.
Some Christian denominations still prohibit the consumption of dairy products and meat during Lent. But, for most, giving up a favourite treat for the period or eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday are the only dietary adjustments made to mark the period before Christianity's most important holiday.
In Canada, pancake breakfasts or dinners are popular fundraisers on Shrove Tuesday.
The men of St. Mark's Anglican Church in Ottawa put on a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper every year. According to the church's Pancake Supper Manual, the "pancakes, sausages or ham and ice cream or dessert are all something that are within the mostly limited capacity or ambition of the men of a church in putting on a supper. This does not mean that more elaborate suppers cannot be provided by men, it simply recognizes the traditions that have existed in the past and have carried on to a lesser extent today."
Hotcakes, griddlecakes and flapjacks
Across North America, pancakes have traditionally been a breakfast food. They contain a rising agent — normally baking powder — and varying proportions of eggs, flour and milk, depending on how thick the cook wants them.
Most Canadians simply call them pancakes. South of the border, they also go by hotcakes, griddlecakes and flapjacks. In Scotland and Ireland, they're also known as drop scones or girdle cakes. The French — and Quebecers — prefer them thinner and call them crepes. They're often served for dinner or dessert and filled with a wide variety of items including fruit, ice cream or seafood.
Head out to different parts of the world and the Pancake Tuesday traditions may vary, even if the idea is the same.
In the United States, Fat Tuesday — or Mardi Gras — marks the end of the world famous carnival, well-known for its gaudy parades and elevated levels of partying. In Brazil, another world-class release of excess energy — Carnival — also comes to a close before the 40 sombre days of Lent.
Head to Poland or Germany and the event doesn't even fall on a Tuesday. On the last Thursday before Lent, Poles celebrate Tlusty czwartek — a day of gluttony when people get together at home or in restaurants and stuff themselves with sweets, cakes and other treats they're forbidden to eat during Lent. In Germany, the feast day is called Fetter Donnerstag or Schmutziger Donnerstag.
In Italy, pancakes are scarce on Giovedi Grasso (Fat Thursday) but other rich foods are in abundance. In Greece, forget the carbs on Tsiknopempti, the second-to-last Thursday before the beginning of Lent. This is a day for lovers of grilled meats. Greeks set aside a full seven weeks for Lent and get it rolling with Kathara Dheftera, or Clean Monday — a day devoted to spring cleaning, at home and in public spaces.
