Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday.   We’ll celebrate with pancakes on this final day before Lent.  But what’s the meaning of “shrove?” The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one’s sins by way of confession and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be “shriven” before the start of Lent

The celebratory side of Shrove Tuesday is also a tradition of long standing.  Lent would be 40 days of penance and fasting.  Ah, but the night before!!!

In the United Kingdom and Ireland it was “Pancake Day!”  Pancakes were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk and sugar, a custom dating back to the 16^th century.  In many cultures liturgical fasting emphasized eating only simple food, refraining from food that would give undue pleasure.   Villages and towns in Britain rang the church bells at 11 AM, a signal for the “pancake races” to begin.  Participants in aprons and scarves raced through the streets carrying their frying pans.  Pancakes had to be tossed into the air and caught in the pan, all while running.

In Germany the custom was Fastnachtsdienstag (fast-night Tuesday).  Celebrating with fancy German dress, it included lots of good food.   In some parts of Switzerland, the day is called Güdeldienstag.  The term Güdel translates to a “fat belly stuffed with food.”  Spanish and Italian speaking countries celebrated Carnival. This came from the Medieval Latin carnelevamen, which translated to the putting away of flesh, for the Lenten fast would include abstaining from meat.

We could go on and on – Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Newfoundland – each had a version of this Shrove Tuesday celebration.  It spread to South America, and we all know of the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans.

Well, enjoy your pancakes tomorrow and know you’re part of a century’s long tradition of celebrating on the eve of the Lent.  Then, just as in all the other traditions, we’ll meet again on Ash Wednesday to begin the penitential season.  How awesome that the unconditional love of our God extends to us in times of celebration as well as times of repentance.

Judy