Shrove Tuesday.

So Peter grew up in a household that celebrate Shrove Tuesday by making and eating pancakes!  This is a tradition that Peter and I are fully capable of carrying on, so for the past few years we have done so! 

I love pancakes and I love putting all sorts of things in my pancakes - like bananas, oats, vanilla, cinnamon, berries, and so on and so on.  But tonight I just made some plain and simple pancakes because that is what the husband wanted.  After asking him if I could put vanilla and cinnamon in the batter, he kindly replied, "No…my mom never does that!" and so folks I didn't!

But I must say it's not the making and eating of pancakes I have had a hard time adjusting to, but the title of this actual day.  Peter calls it Shrove Tuesday, and I never really celebrated it growing up so I never had a title for the day, but I feel as though people here call it Fat Tuesday...not Shrove Tuesday?  So this has been a bit of an adjustment.  And after doing a little bit of research I quickly discovered that Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of the season of Lent. 

And not only do they call it Shrove Tuesday, but it's also referred to as Pancake Day.  Why pancakes you may ask??  Well according to the beautiful source of Wikipedia, "Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent."

Well I am pleased with our new tradition, and maybe you should even consider starting this tradition with your family.  But I must admit that I won't be giving up eggs, milk or sugar for Lent, thus pancakes may be made again in our household over the next 40 days!