Shrove Tuesday

  

Today is Shrove Tuesday in the Christian calendar.  Some people refer to the day as Mardi Gras (literally “Fat Tuesday”) – especially as they refer to the carnivals of New Orleans and elsewhere.  It marks the last day before the beginning of Lent.  Since the date for the beginning of Lent depends on the timing of Easter, Shrove Tuesday also moves around the calendar and it can take place anywhere between February 3 and March 9 inclusive.

Shrove is a form of the verb shrive, which means “to obtain absolution for sins by way of confession and penitence.”  The day has a long history in the church.  Going back into the Middle Ages penitents would go to their confessors on this day in preparation for Lent.

It is a day in which households consumed fat – and all pleasant or indulgent foods in the house – as families made ready for the self-denial of Lent.  The tradition of eating pancakes on this day goes back to at least the seventeenth century.

It is a global holiday with a multitude of regional celebrations.  Christians observe the day in one form or another in almost all areas of the world.  Most area festivities carry a sense of a great party or fete prior to entering into the spirit of Lent.