Rebecca Abbott | February 15th, 2021 12:00 PM
‘What’s Lent got to do with pancakes?’ you ask?
Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday when Lent begins) is often known in popular culture as “Pancake Day”.
“Shrove” is the past tense of “shrive” – meaning “to confess to a priest, for the purpose of obtaining absolution”, according to Macquarie Dictionary.
What is Lent all about?
What is Ash Wednesday?
Help for your Lenten journey this year
So Shrove Tuesday is historically a day when Christians in some traditions confessed their sins in church ahead of Lent.
The pancakes come into it as a way for people to use up food items “banned” during their Lenten fast – including flour, eggs and milk.
This article was originally part of a longer one published here.
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