16 February 2010 is a very special day. It has many names: Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday and Mardi Grass to name but a few. for many children in the UK it is Pancake Day, the day to eat those scummy pancakes with as many different kinds of delicious fillings as you can find.
It is also the day for Pancake races. A tradition that began in 1445, when a housewife in Olney, England started baking her pancakes rather late. They were not quite finished when the church bell rang. Because she didn not want to leave her pancakes to burn, she hurried to the “shriving” (special church service) carrying her frying pan and the pancakes with her. Today you can find pancake race all over the UK.
The reason why pancakes are a big part of the Shrove Tuesday celebration can be found out our website. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html
The day after Pancake Day is know as Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, when Christians prepare for Easter.
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Now that’s a neat story. And an interesting blog. I love British, er Welsh, I mean Anglo-Saxon with a little Norman history tossed in. And especially stories of Henry II and Eleanor tossed in.
ReplyDeletei love pancake day.mine had syrup and ice cream.yum!
ReplyDeleteI like sugar and lemon juice on mine!
ReplyDeleteFrom overseas (Spain) this brings back a few memories I must say!
ReplyDeleteI have just realised that pancake day is on Tuesday too much of Valentine's day and not enough of shrove tuesday the day before ash wednesday and then lent, I live in Spain and ash wednesday is a mass when everyone is blessed by the ashes. Sarah Spain
ReplyDeleteI did not realise that Tuesday was pancake day I love pancakes as much as I love my card making at our crafting club. Making pancakes is a totally British thing to do and all the kids
ReplyDeleteI must ask, as an American, about the British use of the word 'scummy' – in America, 'scummy' usually means gross, disgusting, or repulsive. I guess that's not the way the British/Welsh/Scots use it, since I don't think anyone wants gross, disgusting, repulsive fillings in their pancakes. 😉
ReplyDeleteSo, I guess from context the word 'scummy' in this case must be a sort of 'cute' way of saying 'scrumptious'?
scummy does indeed mean 'gross/disgusting' in England, I think there is an 'r' missing from the text as 'scrummy' means tasty in England.
ReplyDeleteMarc (a brit abroad in Florida)
Jeff, I think you mean scrummy – from scrumptious, surely. Scummy is a bad word in the UK too!
ReplyDelete