Shrove Tuesday ... Pancakes anyone?

I love pancake Tuesday.  It's rare, indeed, to enjoy pancakes in our household.  All those delicious, rich calories we try to avoid.  But on Pancake Tuesday, somehow we feel justified. 

I have a wonderful yet simple recipe for pancakes.  Unlike most Canadians I do not like Maple Syrup but corn syrup does the trick for us.  Mmm, good!

Pancake Tuesday is a name we have adopted for Shrove Tuesday and it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats at least one pancake.

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the period which Christians call "Lent".  It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes.

I've often wondered why.  And so I checked it out and discovered the reasoning behind our Pancake Day celebration.

Since "Lent" is meant to be a time of abstinence, a time to give things up, Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge ourselves and to eat the foods that aren't allowed during "Lent".  

Because they contain fat, butter, and eggs which were forbidden during "Lent", pancakes are eaten on Shrove Tuesday which is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday and is therefore the final day before the commencement of "Lent", a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday.

As for me, I like tradition.

I like tradition almost as much as I like pancakes.

Shrove Tuesday happens 47 days before Easter Sunday.  For this reason the date varies from year to year.