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When is Pancake Day?
Pancake Day falls on Tuesday, February 9, 2027.
About Pancake Day
Pancake Day, formally Shrove Tuesday, falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is 47 days before Easter Sunday. Because it is tied to Easter, the date moves each year and lands between February 3 and March 9. It marks the last chance for feasting before the 40-day fast of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. The custom of eating pancakes grew up in the UK and Ireland from the need to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk and fat before they were given up for Lent. The same day is kept very differently elsewhere. It is Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, in France and New Orleans, with parades and parties; Carnival in Brazil and the Caribbean; and Fastnacht in parts of Germany. It is not a public holiday in the UK.
The pancake race in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is one of the best-known Pancake Day traditions, and the village says a race has been run there since 1445. Competitors run a set course while flipping a pancake in a frying pan. The story goes that the custom began when a local woman, hearing the church bell on Shrove Tuesday, ran to the service still holding her pan. In parts of Northern Ireland and some old English parishes, churches still ring shriving bells on Shrove Tuesday morning. Traditional UK pancakes are thin, close to a French crêpe, and served with lemon juice and sugar. This is different from the thicker American pancake that some US Christian communities eat on the same day. Lenten fasts traditionally leave out meat, dairy, eggs and added fats, which is why pancakes, made from eggs, milk and flour, became the standard Shrove Tuesday meal and a way to clear the rich items from the pantry.
Frequently asked questions
Why do people eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?
Pancakes are eaten on Shrove Tuesday because of the fast of Lent that begins the next day. In the past, Christians gave up rich foods for the whole of Lent, including eggs, milk, butter and fat. Shrove Tuesday was the last day to use these up before the fast, and pancakes, made mainly from eggs, milk and flour, were an easy way to do it. The custom took hold in Britain and Ireland and has lasted long after strict Lenten fasting became uncommon, so the pancakes now outlive the reason behind them.
Why does Pancake Day change date each year?
Pancake Day moves because it is tied to Easter, which itself moves. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday is 46 days before Easter Sunday, so Pancake Day falls 47 days before Easter. Easter is set as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox, which can put it anywhere from late March to late April. As a result Pancake Day can fall anywhere between February 3 and March 9, depending on the year.
What does the word "Shrove" mean?
Shrove comes from the old English verb "shrive", which means to hear a confession and grant absolution. On Shrove Tuesday, Christians traditionally went to confession to be shriven before the solemn season of Lent began. The day's name records that practice rather than anything to do with food. The shriving bell, still rung in some churches on the morning of Shrove Tuesday, originally called people to come and make their confession before Lent.
What is the difference between Pancake Day and Mardi Gras?
They are the same day in the calendar, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, but the celebrations differ. In Britain and Ireland the day is Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, marked mainly by eating pancakes at home. In France, New Orleans and many other places it is Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday", with street parades, costumes and parties. Brazil and the Caribbean hold Carnival around the same point. All of these grew from the same idea of a final celebration before the fasting of Lent.
What is the Olney pancake race?
The Olney pancake race is a Shrove Tuesday event in the village of Olney in Buckinghamshire, England. Competitors, traditionally women, run a set course through the village while tossing a pancake in a frying pan, and must flip it at the start and the finish. Local tradition says a race has been held there since 1445, linked to a story of a woman who ran to church still holding her pan. The modern race is a well-known fixture and is sometimes run against a matching race in Liberal, Kansas, in the United States.