Shrove Tuesday

I never realized that the day before Ash Wednesday when the Lent season beginnings had a name(s) or a meaning(s). The kids came home from school with a paper about a "Pancake Party" and I'm like "What's that?"

So the other day, Friday, I think it was I mentioned something about it when Lady and I went to see James & Janet, for her morning treat and cuddle. James proceeded to give me a history lesson it :) Later he asked Janet & I if we'd looked it up. I have since looked it up and there are many names for the Tuesday before the Lent season begins!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, I learned this:

Shrove Tuesday is a term used in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada[1] and Australia[2] for the day preceding the first day of the Christian season of fasting and prayer called Lent.
The word shrove is the past tense of the English verb shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of Confession and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the shriving that English Christians were expected to do prior to receiving absolution immediately before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is the last day of "shrovetide", somewhat analogous to the Carnival tradition that developed separately in countries of Latin Europe. The term "Shrove Tuesday" is no longer widely known in the United States outside of Liturgical Traditions, such as the Lutheran, Episcopal, and Roman Catholic Churches. [3][4] Because of the increase in many immigrant populations and traditions since the 19th century "Mardi Gras" is much more widely-used.
The festival is widely associated with the eating of foods such as pancakes, and often known simply as Pancake Day, originally because these used up ingredients such as fat and eggs, the consumption of which was traditionally restricted during Lent.

Other Traditions
Many towns throughout England held traditional Shrove Tuesday football ('Mob football') games dating as far back as the 12th century. The practice mostly died out with the passing of the Highway Act 1835, which banned the playing of football on public highways. A number of towns have managed to maintain the tradition to the present day including Alnwick in Northumberland, Ashbourne in Derbyshire (called the Royal Shrovetide Football Match), Atherstone (called the Ball Game) in Warwickshire, Sedgefield (called the Ball Game) in County Durham, and St Columb Major (called Hurling the Silver Ball) in Cornwall.
Shrove Tuesday was once known as a 'half-holiday' in England. It started at 11:00 a.m. with the signalling of a church bell.[9] On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.
In 1634 William Fennor wrote in his Palinodia:
"And tosse their Pancakes up for feare they burne."
But the tradition of pancake racing had started long before that. The most famous pancake race [10], at Olney in Buckinghamshire, has been held since 1445. The contestants, traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race to the finishing line tossing the pancakes as they go. As the pancakes are thin, skill is required to toss them successfully while running. The winner is the first to cross the line having tossed the pancake a certain number of times.
Since 1950 the people of Liberal, Kansas, and Olney have held the "International Pancake Day" race between the two towns. The two towns' competitors race along an agreed-upon course, and the times of all of the two towns' competitors are compared, to determine a winner. After the 2000 race, Liberal was leading with 26 wins to Olney's 24.[11]. A similar race is held in North Somercotes of Lincolnshire in eastern England.
Also, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, the foreshore road (beach) is closed off, schools close early and all residents are invited to skip in the road.

Pancake Day
In the United Kingdom, Shrove Tuesday is often known colloquially as Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday. The traditional pancake is slightly thicker than a French crêpe. It is served immediately after preparation and was traditionally served with a meat-based stew, although in modern times a sprinkling of granulated sugar (fine sugar in the United States), or caster sugar (superfine sugar in the United States), and lemon juice has become more common. Many other sweet and savoury toppings are used today (for example, in Canada pancakes are often served with maple syrup or preserves).
In Australia, UnitingCare Australia, the social services arm of the Uniting Church in Australia, has used Pancake Day to raise money for their work.[12]
The Rehab UK Parliamentary Pancake Race also takes place every Shrove Tuesday, with teams from the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Fourth Estate (press media) battling it out for the title of Parliamentary Pancake Race Champions. This relay race is held to raise awareness of the work of national brain injury charity Rehab UK[13] and the needs of people with acquired brain injury.

The Pancake Greaze
Another local tradition, the Pancake Greaze, takes place every year at Westminster School in London. A pancake, reinforced with horsehair, is prepared in advance and on Shrove Tuesday tossed into the air "up School". The boys at the school then attempt to get as much of it as they can.

There is also FAT TUESDAY:

In countries of the Carnival tradition, the day before Ash Wednesday is known either as Fat Tuesday (Portuguese, Terça-feira Gorda; French, Mardi Gras; Italian, Martedì Grasso; Swedish, Fettisdagen; Estonian, Vastlapäev), or the "Tuesday of Carnival" (Spanish, Martes de Carnaval; Portuguese, Terça-feira de Carnaval; German, Faschingsdienstag). This is in reference to eating special foods before the fasting season of Lent.

For German American populations, such as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it is known as Fastnacht Day (also spelled Fasnacht, Fausnacht, Fauschnaut, or Fosnacht). The Fastnacht is made from fried potato dough and served with dark corn syrup. In John Updike's novel Rabbit Run, the main character remembers a Fosnacht Day tradition where the last person to rise would be teased by the other family members and called a "Fosnacht."

In Hawaii, this day is also known as Malasada Day, which dates back to the days of the sugar plantations of the 1800s. The occupying Portuguese used up their butter and sugar prior to Lent by making large batches of malasada (doughnuts).

In Iceland the day is known as Sprengidagur ("Bursting Day") and is marked by the eating of salt meat and peas.

In Lithuania the day is called Užgavėnės. People eat pancakes (blynai) and Lithuanian-style doughnuts called spurgos.

In heavily Polish areas of the United States, such as Chicago and the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, Pączki Day is celebrated with pączki eating contests, music and Polish food.

In Sweden, the day is marked by eating a traditional pastry, called semla or fastlagsbulle, a sweet bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. Originally, the pastry was only eaten on this day sometimes served in a bowl of hot milk. Eventually the tradition evolved to eat the bun on every Tuesday leading up to Easter, as after the Reformation, the Protestant Swedes no longer observed a strict Lent. Today, semlas are available in shops and bakeries every day from shortly after Christmas until Easter. The semla is now often eaten as a regular pastry, without the hot milk. The semla is also traditional in Finland but they are usually filled with jam instead of almond paste.

Rumor is, that on Fat Tuesday, people get completely intoxicated!

So needless to say I've had my history lesson :) No, the kids and I did not go eat pancakes. They never mentioned that they wanted to go, so when I went to pick them up yesterday, I had Lady with me, and it was then that Ashlynn decided she wanted to go. At that point we couldn't, cause I'd brought Lady with me. This child really needs to inform me of her "wants" prior to the event.

Well, that's it for today - I've some chores to tend to! We still do not know if Ashlynn has won the contest yet, waiting & praying! David says I'm worse than her about it, but I think she did amazing and I want to know! Besides we all know patience is not a strong-suit of mine :)

Until next time....