Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day

In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake.

The three last days before the beginning of Lent (Fastenzeit) is known als Shrovestide.
Shrove Sunday (Faschingssonntag) is the fiftieth day before Easter. Collop Monday (Rosenmontag) is named after a traditional dish (Mahlzeit) of the day.
Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday (Faschingsdienstag) is the day on which all fat and cream (Fett und Sahne)had to be used up (aufgebraucht).


The name shrove comes from the old word shrive which means to confess (gestehen, beichten)
On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages people confessed their sins (Sünden) so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began (Fastenzeit).

What is a pancake?
A pancake is a thin, flat (flach) cake, made of batter (Palatschinkenteig) and fried in a pan. Castersugar (Staubzucker) is sprinkled over the top and a dash (Spritzer) of fresh lemon juice added (hinzugefügt). The pancake is then rolled.

What happens on Shrove Tuesday?
There are pancake races all over the UK. You have to run and get to the finishing line (Ziellinie) first while flipping a pancake in a frying pan (Bratpfanne).

Interesting fact:
The world biggest pancake was cooked in Rochdale, near Manchester.
It was fifteen metres in diameter (Durchmesser), weighed (wog) three tons and had two million calories.

Other names for Shrove Tuesday:
Apocreas - Greece
The word means "from the meat"
Fattisdagen (Fat Tuesday) - Sweden
Mardi Gras - France
Mardi Gras means grease (Fett) or Fat Tuesday Fasnacht, Fasching - Germany