The History Of Mardi Gras/ Shrove Tuesday
According to historic-uk.com “Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, Christians went to confession and were “shriven” (absolved from their sins). A bell would be rung to call people to confession. This came to be called the “Pancake Bell””. And it’s still honored today
Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9. In 2021 Shrove Tuesday will fall on February 16th.
Shrove Tuesday was considered the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients.
There are so many theories about the history and origins of Shrove Tuesday/ Fat Tuesday. However, Mardi Gras day started in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 3, 1699. "The origins of Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras first began thousands of years ago as part of uninhibited pagan festivals for fertility and spring, filled with indulgences in everything. Rome’s embrace of Christianity meant the interest of incorporating Fat Tuesday into Christianity became a goal; thus, Fat Tuesday and all its unrestricted immorality were welcomed as part of preparing for Ash Wednesday and fasting for Lent. The event quickly spread through Europe like wildfire, and then began its journey over to the Americas. Mardi Gras arrived in the United States as a small festival marking French explorers Sieur de Bienville and Pierre Le Moyne d'iberville landing on what is now New Orleans, Louisiana on March 3, 1699." According to a website.
History of Shrove Tuesday
The tradition of acknowledging the start of the Lenten fast has been observed for at least hundreds of years. By the age of the late Middle Ages, the feast of Shrovetide lasted until the start of Lent. It was customary in many cultures to eat pancakes or other foods made with the butter, eggs, and fat that would be given up during the Lenten season. The particular tradition of British Christians enjoying pancakes on Shrove Tuesday dates back to the 16th century.
Along with its celebration of feasting, another tradition of Shrove Tuesday includes Christians repenting of their sins in preparation to start the season of Lent. Ælfric of Eynsham's "Ecclesiastical Institutes" from about 1000 AD declared: "In the week immediately before Lent everyone shall go to his confessor and confess his deeds and the confessor shall so shrive him as he then may hear by his deeds what he is to do [in the way of penance]".
In many Protestant and Roman Catholic Christian churches, a popular Shrove Tuesday ritual is the ringing of the church bells (on this day, known as the Shriving Bell) "to call the faithful to confession before the solemn season of Lent" and for people to "begin frying their pancakes". Some churches also burn the palms distributed during the previous year's Palm Sunday liturgies to make the ashes used during the services held on the very next day, Ash Wednesday.
Traditions of Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday serves multiple purposes of encouraging Christians to repent of their sins before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday and also giving them the opportunity to partake in a last round of jubilation before the beginning of the austere Lenten season, which is characterized by making a Lenten sacrifice, fasting, praying and several spiritual disciplines, such as checking a Lenten calendar and reading a daily devotional.
Pancakes are connected with Shrove Tuesday as a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting period of the 40 days of Lent. Liturgical fasting calls for eating simpler food while abstaining from meat, dairy products, or eggs.
On Shrove Tuesday, the final day of the Shrovetide season, many Christians, such as Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Roman Catholics, have an emphasized focus of self-examination, reflecting on what sins they need to repent for, and what improvements in life or aspects of spiritual growth they need to ask God's help in edifying.
Additionally, many Christians conclude their determination of what Lenten sacrifices they will make for the 40 days of Lent on Shrove Tuesday. While undergoing a Lenten sacrifice, it is helpful to pray for strength; and encouraging fellow Christians in their fast saying, for example: "May God bless your Lenten sacrifice."
Meaning of the Name 'Shrove Tuesday'
The name “Shrove Tuesday” arises from it marking the culmination of the season known as Shrovetide which includes indulging in food that one might give up as their Lenten sacrifice.
The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to receive absolution for one's sins by way of Confession and fulfilling a penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the tradition of Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent.
In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, Shrove Tuesday is also known as "Pancake Day" or "Pancake Tuesday", as it became a common practice to eat pancakes as a celebratory meal.
