What do you remember about celebrating Shrove Tuesday and Lent, does it differ from how you celebrate today ?
What things did you do ?
Did you get involved in any festivities ?
Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is observed mainly in English speaking countries, especially Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand and Canada but is also observed in Philippines and Germany. Shrove Tuesday is linked to Easter, so its date changes on an annual basis.
In most traditions the day is known for the eating of pancakes before the start of Lent. Pancakes are eaten as they are made out of the main foods available, sugar, fat, flour and eggs, whose consumption was traditionally restricted during the ritual fasting associated with Lent.
In England, as part of community celebration, many towns held traditional Shrove Tuesday football ('Mob football') games, dating as far back as the 12th century.
Shrove Tuesday was once known as a 'half-holiday' in England. It started at 11:00am with the signalling of a church bell. On Pancake Day, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the United Kingdom. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake. The pancake race remains a relatively common festive tradition in the UK, and England in particular, even today. Participants with frying pans race through the streets tossing pancakes into the air, catching them in the pan whilst running. In Olney today, a pancake race still takes place every year on Shrove Tuesday.
From Wikipedia
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i went 2 st josephs at ushawmoor i gave up sugar in me tea n coffe for lent when i was about 7 and to this day i dont have sugar still no meat on good friday the fish shops must make a fortune now i can emember we had 2 go 2 church easter sunday morning and call at aunty nelly n uncle jimmys at hll avnue then aunty margarets whitehouse lane then white house court 2 uncle toms n auty lorettas collect our easter egge n then when we got home we could have halfonebefore dinner it was well worth the wait x
ReplyDeleteHi @Pat and thanks for your comments. Good on you... :)
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you Pat, your Grandma Gurty? as she was known to us is fondly remembered by me and was always great friends with my mother. They all lived at 47 and we lived at 44 Whitehouse Court. Best regards
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