The begininng of Lent
(Fastenzeit) is celebrated in many countries in different ways. In Germany this celebration is known as Karneval or Fasching. In Great Britain the last three or four days before the
beginning of Lent is known as Shrovetide and the day before Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch) is called Shrove Tuesday (Karnevalsdienstag, Faschingsdienstag). In the USA the French term „Mardi Gras“ (Grease or Fat Tuesday) is better known for this day.
What is „Shrove Tuesday“? Why do the British also call it „Pancake Day“ (Pfannekuchentag)? The name Shrove comes from the old word „shrive“ which means to confess (beichten). On Shrove Tuesday, in the Middle Ages (Mittelalter), people used to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began. Lent is a time of abstinence (Entbehrung), of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself (sich hingeben), and to use up the foods that aren’t allowed in Lent. During the forty days of Lent it was forbidden by the church to eat eggs, milk or fat. So, on the last day before Lent people made pancakes to use up these ingredients.
What happens on Shrove Tuesday in England? Pancakes are eaten and pancake races (Pfannekuchenrennen) are held in villages and towns. Pancake races are thought to have begun in 1445. A woman had lost track of the time (Zeit vergessen) on Shrove Tuesday, and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bell (Kirchenglocke) ringing to call the faithful to church for confession.
The woman raced out of her house and ran all the way to church; still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron. The object of the race is to get to the finishing line (Ziel) first, carrying a frying pan (Bratpfanne) with a cooked pancake in it whilst flipping (hochwerfen) the pancake three times. The skill (Geschick) lies not so much in the running of the race but in flipping and catching (fangen) the pancake, which must be intact (ganz) when the finishing line is reached. More than a hundred years ago, Shrove Tuesday used to be a half-day holiday (Feiertag). A church bell, called the the ‚Shriving Bell‘, would have been rung signalling the start of the holiday and to call people to church to confess their sins. The church bell was rung at eleven o’clock in the morning, as a reminder to housewives to prepare their pancake batter (Pfannekuchenteig) and so the bell became known as the ‚Pancake Bell‘ (Pfannekuchenglocke).
Shrove Tuesday is still a special day for children in some parts of England, where ‚Pancake Day‘, as they call it, is kept as a school holiday (schulfrei).
Suzanne Wood für report-K.de / Kölns Internetzeitung
