Find out all you need to know about Pancake Day 2017, from the best pancake recipes to the possibly pagan origins of Shrove Tuesday and the tradition of pancake tossing...
When is Pancake Day 2017?
Pancake Day has been celebrated by Britons for centuries. Known also as Shrove Tuesday, its exact date, rather confusingly, changes every year, because it is determined by when Easter falls.
But it is always the day preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), and always falls in February or March. This year, you'll need to get your pans ready for Tuesday, February 28th.
What does Shrove Tuesday mean?
The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and penance. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the custom for Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent.
Why do we celebrate Pancake Day?
Traditionally, pancakes were eaten on this day to use up rich, indulgent foods like eggs and milk before the 40-day fasting season of Lent began. But although it is enshrined in Christian tradition, it is believed that Pancake Day might originate in a pagan holiday, when eating warm, round pancakes - symbolising the sun - was a way of celebrating the arrival of spring.
Why do we flip pancakes?
As well as making and eating pancakes, we Brits love to hold pancake races, where people run while flipping their pancakes in a pan. Legend has it that the tradition was born in the 15th century when a particularly disorganised woman in Buckinghamshire rushed to church to confess her sins while mid-way through making pancakes. We hope she gave one to the priest.
