Shrove Tuesday facts
Learn all about this worldwide religious festival…
Every year we celebrate Shrove Tuesday, or as you may know it…Pancake Day!
But what is the meaning behind this special day? How and why is it celebrated around the world? It’s time to find out with our ten Shrove Tuesday facts!
Shrove Tuesday facts
1) Shrove Tuesday is a Christian festival celebrated in many countries across the globe. It falls on the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent – a period of around six weeks leading up to Easter. During Lent, Christians give up luxuries to remember when Jesus went into the desert for 40 days to fast and pray.
2) The exact date of Shrove Tuesday changes from year to year. But one thing stays the same — it’s always 47 days before Easter Sunday. And yes, you guessed it, it’s always on a Tuesday!
3) The name comes from the old word ‘shriving’, which means to listen to someone’s sins and forgive them. In Anglo-Saxon England, Christians would go to church on Shrove Tuesday to confess their sins and clean their soul. In other words, they would be ‘shriven’.
4) In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, Shrove Tuesday has another name… Pancake Day! Traditionally during Lent, Christians would give up rich, tasty foods such as butter, eggs, sugar and fat (some Christians continue to do so, in fact). Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to eat them – and what better way to do so than with a delicious pancake!
5) Today, people continue to whisk up these yummy treats on Shrove Tuesday — and they add all kinds of tasty toppings, too, such as fruit, honey, chocolate and ice cream! But check this out; pancakes aren’t only for eating during this fab festival — people race with them, too!
6) Pancake races are a super-fun Shrove Tuesday tradition. In this mad-cap activity, people race each other whilst tossing a pancake in a pan. Today, pancake races are often organised to raise money for charity and help those in need. Awesome!
7) Now, the big question — where did this wacky tradition come from? The story goes that it originated way back in 1445, in the town of Olney in Buckinghamshire, England. A woman was so busy making pancakes that she lost track of time. When she heard the church bells ringing for the Shrove Tuesday mass, she ran as fast as she could to make it, and arrived still carrying her pancake in the pan!
8) Pancakes have become such a popular Shrove Tuesday tradition that on this day, a whopping 52 million eggs are used in the UK alone! That’s 22 million more than your average day. Egg-citing stuff!
9) In other countries, Shrove Tuesday has different names. In Germany, for example, it’s called ‘Fastnacht’ (meaning ‘Eve of the Fast’) and in Iceland it’s called ‘Sprengidagur’ (meaning ‘Bursting Day’). In France and some other parts of the world, the festival is called ‘Mardi Gras’, from the French phrase meaning ‘Fat Tuesday’. And for many people, Mardi Gras means party time…
10) Lots of cities around the world celebrate Mardi Gras with vibrant street parties featuring live bands, colourful parades, and elaborate fancy-dress costumes! Some of the world’s largest and most famous Mardi Gras celebrations take place in New Orleans in the USA, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Venice in Italy.
Perfect pancake recipe!
Fancy joining in the fab pancake fun? Then get whisking and flipping with this six-step pancake recipe.
What you’ll need:
100g plain flour
2 eggs
300ml semi-skimmed milk
Pinch of salt
1tbsp sunflower/vegetable oil
Butter for frying
Bowl
Whisk/fork
Frying pan
Ladle
Fish slice
Yummy toppings – such as lemon, chocolate spread, marshmallows, fruit, or whatever you fancy!
- 1) Take a bowl and pour in the milk and oil, then break in the eggs. Now take the whisk and beat the ingredients together to make a frothy mixture.
- 2) Once that’s done, take another bowl and mix together the flour and a pinch of salt with your hands. Messy!
- 3) Now slowly pour the liquid into the middle of the flour mixture, whisking all the time, until the batter you’re making is quite runny. If it’s a little lumpy, keep whisking away until your pancake mix is nice and smooth!
- 4) With an adult’s help, warm the frying pan to a medium heat, then add a little butter. Once it’s melted, ladle in enough pancake mix to cover the bottom of the pan, then tilt it in a circular motion so the mix spreads evenly. Now you’re cooking!
- 5) Now for the fun bit! When your pancake starts to brown underneath, hold the pan handle in one hand, slide the spatula under the pancake and flip it over. Next, ask an adult to help you flip it the fancy way!
- 6) Repeat steps one to four for each pancake and stack them high! Traditional toppings are lemon juice and sugar. But you can also try chocolate spread, peanut butter, fruit, honey, whipped cream or a healthy dollop of yogurt. Tuck in and enjoy!
What did you think of our Shrove Tuesday facts and pancake recipe? Leave a comment below and let us know!
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COMMENTS
Thanks so much! I made a lot because they are so yum.
YUM !
yum
AWESOME
amzing
amazing
hi
pancakes yum
learning is fun
thanks
thanks
i love pancakes i say yes
yum and yum
I will have too tell my mum, can't wait!
wow
this is amazing! it gave me loads of facts about Shrove Teusday and also told me how to make pancakes this is really good for young children to find facts how a great shrove Tuesday!
Cool!
wow
cant wait to make epic panckes
this website helped me
oooooooooooo
hi
cool
nice
Hi I don't know what do write on hear but it says to an avatar so I am going to do that now
Their really good! I really want to have a go at pancake racing but we don't have unough pans . The Pancakes look so nice. I've never had any marshmallows in my pancakes before!
bro this is sick
I like Pancake Tuesday
Love the idea
Yay so excited
yummy
mmmmmmm pancakes
Lots of great facts & humorous information.
COOL!
cant wait
awsom that is way cool i lov pancakes they r supa yumy
cool facts.Cant wait to eat the pancakes
Savoury pancakes are delicious too.
I love it
CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR