Happy Pancake Day from Basepoint Southampton
Congratulations to Hazel from One Way for winning our Pancake prize just in time for Pancake Day!!
What is Pancake Day?
Formally known as Shrove Tuesday - It always falls 47 days before Easter so the date moves but it will always be between February 3 and March 9.
Shrove Tuesday is the day that precedes Ash Wednesday. As it is determined by Easter, for which the actual date changes on an annual basis.
This year Pancake Day takes place on Tuesday 28th February.
The name Shrove Tuesday comes from 'shrive', meaning absolution for sins by doing penance.
The day gets its name from the tradition of Christians trying to be 'shriven' before Lent. Christians would go to Confession, where they admit their sins to a priest and ask for absolution. A bell would be rung to call them to Confession, which was called the 'pancake bell'. It's still rung today.
In the US it's called Mardi Gras aka 'Fat Tuesday' in French mainly because we use up the fatty foods before Lent.
Pancake Day itself came much later as a way of using up rich foods, like eggs, milk and sugar before the 40 days of fasting - Lent.
Pancakes are now forever associated with Shrove Tuesday as it is a sort of all-in-one way of using up some fatty foods before Lent.
In the past the ideas was for families to clear out their cupboards and remove the fattening foods (normally the tempting ones) so they aren't in their house during Lent.
Eggs, milk and sugar aren't traditionally eaten in fasting season, so need to be scoffed beforehand.
The actual tradition of mixing them up for pancakes is thought to come from a pagan ritual, but others say it is a Christian tradition - with each ingredient representing one of the four pillars of the faith. Eggs for creation, flour sustenance or the staff of life, salt for wholesomeness and milk for purity.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/social/happy-pancake-day-2017-what-9927878?service=responsive