Today, February 12, New Orleans is celebrating Mardi Gras or “Fat Tuesday” with parades, costumes, wild dancing, and rich food. Meanwhile, across the pond, the UK is celebrating Shrove Tuesday, which is commonly called “Pancake Day” or “Pancake Tuesday,” a day on which the Brits eat…pancakes. Can such disparate celebrations have anything in common? Why yes, they do! Both Mardi Gras and Pancake Day occur annually on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent--and both are attempts to “let loose” and enjoy oneself before the austerity and fasting of the Lenten season.
But why pancakes, you may ask… Well, the tradition started because rich foods such as butter and eggs were given up for Lent, and to get rid of those foodstuffs before Ash Wednesday, households whipped up pancakes on Tuesday, using the last of their butter and eggs.
We Anglophiles may not get to New Orleans today to drink Hurricanes and Mint Juleps or dance wildly in the street half-clothed, but we can celebrate the Brit way by frying up a pancake. Then, after placing the pancake on a pretty plate, go ahead, Anglophiles—get wild and crazy….sprinkle some sugar on top!
We Anglophiles may not get to New Orleans today to drink Hurricanes and Mint Juleps or dance wildly in the street half-clothed, but we can celebrate the Brit way by frying up a pancake. Then, after placing the pancake on a pretty plate, go ahead, Anglophiles—get wild and crazy….sprinkle some sugar on top!
