The Fight Between Carnival and Lent (detail), Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1559
Yesterday I sat in a hair stylist's chair, which in my case is mostly beard-taming. The stylist to her left commented that her family had a meal of pancakes the night before because it was Shrove Tuesday. Oh ya, said the stylist to the left, we did too. My stylist said, that makes this Ash Wednesday -- I wonder what I should give up for Lent?
I don't want to indulge in stereotypes, but I did not anticipate hearing about Lent and Shrove Tuesday from these three young women. I was pleasantly surprised.
I read recently that Americans are not inclined to whip up a batch of pancakes on the day before 40-day Lent (plus Sundays) commences -- the States is the land of Mardi Gras, after all. An article in Christianity Today notes pancakes on Shrove Tuesday as a British tradition rather than Canadian but that may in fact be where we get our pancake predilection. The article presents a good explanation for this curious practice:
Why pancakes? In medieval Europe, Christians often gave up eating rich foods like meat, eggs, and milk for the 40-day period of penance, prayer, and preparation leading to Easter. The practice and duration of the ritual corresponded to Christ’s 40 days of fasting in the desert.
During Lent, perishable goods would spoil, so pancakes—traditionally just eggs and milk mixed with flour—were the ideal meal for consuming Lenten no-no foods.
But Shrove Tuesday wasn’t just about cleaning out the kitchen. It was also about cleaning out the heart. Shrove is the past tense of shrive, which means to confess sins and to have sins absolved. Priests would ring shriving bells to call pancake-laden parishioners to church to confess their sins—perhaps starting with their gluttony!
The author, Judd Birdsall reminds us that "Pancake Tuesday" really need to be "Shrove Tuesday," the housekeeping of the heart which gets us ready for Lent. I agree, and while Pancake Suppers across the land are pleasant church fundraisers it would be good to return to the original intention, or am I crazy?...pass the syrup please...
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