Carole Brown
JenniferTODAY’S QUIZ QUESTION:
What do silly Brits, like my driver Carole, do on Shrove Tuesday?
First correct answer* to be posted in the reply box below, gets a VW bumper sticker
(see http://vw4causes.org/support/items-for-sale/)
* N.B. If this is your first comment, it will not appear until it’s authorized. However each comment received is posted with the time, so I will be able to see who posted the first correct answer.
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ADDED AT 10:50PM PST
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ANSWER:
Thanks to those who answered the question “what do us silly Brits do on Shrove Tuesday?”. You can see all the replies below in the reply box.
Interestingly, I expected the answer to be “make” pancakes, whereas everyone wrote “eat” them. Culturally speaking, eat sounds more passive to me, whereas make is more action oriented. Also, traditionally us Brits make our own batter (from flour, eggs and milk) and a large part of the action is flipping the pancake – which means that it may not end up back in the pan and might never be eaten! Also we have pancake races; just imagine 
Doing this today makes me realize how interesting it is to share each of our country’s traditions. For example today I heard this day referred to as Fat Tuesday for the first time and I’ve been in USA for 17 years! How come I never realized that Mardi Gras was the same as Shrove Tuesday!
Living in a country other than my birthplace leads me to examine my assumptions regularly. And also to look up the meaning of traditions which I previously took for granted. So here’s what I discovered about Shrove Tuesday (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/lent_1.shtml)
Shrove Tuesday celebrations
Shrove Tuesday is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it’s the last day before Lent. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren’t allowed in Lent.
Giving up foods: but not wasting them
During Lent there are many foods that some Christians – historically and today – would not eat: foods such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods.
So that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday, and eat up all the foods that wouldn’t last the forty days of Lent without going off.The need to eat up the fats gave rise to the French name Mardi Gras (‘fat Tuesday’). Pancakes became associated with Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that could use up all the eggs, fats and milk in the house with just the addition of flour.
The origin of pancake racing
Pancake races are thought to have begun in 1445. A woman had lost track of the time on Shrove Tuesday, and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bell 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.
Going for gold in the pancake Olympics
One of the most famous pancake races is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire, England over a 415 yard course. The rules are strict; contestants have to toss their pancake at both the start and the finish, as well as wearing an apron and a scarf. The race is followed by a church service.
Since 1950 Olney has competed with Liberal in Kansas, USA which holds an identical race, to see which town can produce the fastest competitor. After the 2000 race, Liberal was leading with 26 wins to Olney’s 24.
It’s nice to have some silly fun, so from now on I’ll be running a First Monday Monthly Quiz. See you here!
Filed under: Spontaneous joy | Tagged: British traditions, bumper sticker, Lent, Pancakes, Penitence, Religious traditions, Shrove Tuesday, vw4causes sticker, vw4causes.org | 5 Comments »
