My sister Mary sent these two photos from New York City as she indulged in a pancake breakfast a day early.
She and a friend are headed to the orchid show on Tuesday and no pancakes at the Botanical Garden. When we were growing up, many churches had Pancake Suppers in the church basement on Shrove Tuesday *
“Mardi Gras (fat Tuesday) refers to events of beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday the beginning of Lent which is also known as Shrove Tuesday “
“….final day before the austerity of the Lenten fast, Shrove Tuesday
also has many customs pertaining to food. Pancakes are traditional in a number of European countries because eggs, sugar, and fat, commonly forbidden during the Lenten fast, are used up so they will not go to waste”
Past years I posted about the Polish pre Lenten Tradition of Paczki (click link to see the filled doughnut like treats )
*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 doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be “shriven” before the start of Lent.
