Here’s why we traditionally call Pancake Day ‘Shrove Tuesday’

A popular day across the UK, Shrove Tuesday gives us the perfect excuse to eat lots of delicious pancakes.

But where does the term ‘Shrove Tuesday’ actually come from, and what’s the history behind it? These are the answers to all of your questions about Pancake Day which takes place on Tuesday 25 February 2020.

What is Shrove Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday is the day in February or March that immediately precedes Ash Wednesday, also known as the first day of Lent in Christianity.

The date can vary from year to year, but falls between 3 February at the earliest and 9 March at the latest.

The expression ‘Shrove Tuesday’ is derived from the old middle English word ‘shriven’, which referred to going to confession to repent for the things you have done wrong. Because Lent always starts on a Wednesday, people would go to confession the day before.

This became known as Shriven Tuesday, which then evolved into Shrove Tuesday.

Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday comes from the old English custom of using up all the leftover fattening ingredients in the house before Lent, so that people were ready to fast. The ingredients that people tended to have in their houses were eggs and milk.

To ensure that these ingredients didn’t go to waste, pancakes became the perfect way of using up them up, by simply mixing them with some flour.

What is Lent?

Lent is the period of 40 days where Christians remember the events that lead up to and culminated in the death of Jesus Christ.