History of Shrove Tuesday - By: Tauqeer Hassan

Seeking forgiveness for one’s wrong-doings through confession and repentance is termed as shrove. It is the past tense of shrive.

The term Shrove Tuesday is frequently used in English-speaking countries of the West and Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, and parts of the United States to commemorate a day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, known as the season of fasting and prayer. In Lent season forty days of fasting is observed in which eating fatty substances are forbidden. So, to consume all the fatty substances such as sugar, fats, and eggs are consumed up in making pancakes or pastries.

Christians prepared to perform confession before the start of penitential season of worships to gratify God during Shrovetide, a week before Lent. Therefore, Shrove Tuesday marks the last day of Shrovetide before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and has been in practice since 1000 AD.

The large scale celebration of the day was in a way related to the liberation of high spirits before the start of the sad Lent season.

People observing the customs of the Methodist, Roman Catholic and Episcopal Churches in the United States are not familiar with the term Shrove-Tuesday.

With an increasing flow of immigrants and their associated traditions of celebrations during 19th century, Shrove Tuesday started to be known as Mardi Gras rather than Shrove Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday is often referred to as Pancake Day in UK and many western countries. This is so because the eating of fatty substances is forbidden traditionally during the fasting period of Lent and all such items like sugar, fats, and eggs are consumed to make pancakes and pastries before the Lent season starts.

Final feast whose eating was forbidden by tradition during fasting of Lent was held using edibles such as, fat, sugar, and eggs.

The date of Shrove Tuesday depends on Easter, a sliding feast day fixed with reference to cycles of the moon. It may vary from 3rd February to 9th March.

Why Shrove was termed ‘Fat’ Tuesday

All the Catholics and few Protestants make Fat Tuesday a reference to a Shrove Tuesday falling consecutively before Ash Wednesday. The term ‘fat’ was first used well before the age of Reformation and marks the reference to the Christian tradition of feasting on highly nutritious ingredients prohibited during the fasting rites of Lent.

Festivities associated with Shrove Tuesday

Conventional Shrove Tuesday has been celebrated by many communities in various English Areas by playing mob football games since 12th century AD. However, the Highway Act 1835 stopped from playing football matches over public highways and this custom gradually diminished by the end of the 19th century.

Shrove Tuesday was once known as ‘half holiday’ as it used to start at 11 AM upon ringing of the church bell. The custom of pancake race in which people walk through streets throwing pancakes high in air and then catching back in the pan with a steady run is practiced largely in today’s England.

About the Author

You might be interested in learning about Why Liberty Bell is Famous and also why important is Fireside Chats.

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