shrove tuesday...pancake day

pancake day

       In modern English, the word 'Shrove' has no meaning outside of pancake or Shrove Tuesday.  Academics can trace shrove to the past tense of the verb shrive, which itself means absolution.  This derivation helps to cement the meaning of eating up luxury food before the penance of fasting during Lent.    
        Shrove Tuesday is often referred to as Pancake Day because fats, which were generally prohibited during Lent, had to be used up. People would take all the eggs and dairy products that they had left in their kitchens and use them to make delicious pancakes.
In the United Kingdom of Great Britian, Northern Ireland and several other countries around the world, Pancake Day is celebrated with fun, games, and of course a lot of eating. However, the most well known activity on this day is the Pancake Day race at Olney in Buckinghamshire, England which has been held since 1445. It all began when a woman was cooking pancakes on Shrove Tuesday to use up all of her perishables before Lent. While she was still cooking she heard the chiming of the bells summoning her to church. Not wanting to be late, the woman ran to church with her apron on and the frying pan still in her hand. Little did she know that this would start a tradition that would be around for over 500 years!
       In most Christian denominations, Lent is the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where, according to the Bible, he endured temptation by Satan. 
       The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and sacrifice—for the observation of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, as celebrated during Holy Week.
       Lent lasts from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter”, a celebration of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.
        For the last few weeks we have been talking about what is in our life that is distracting us from following God more closely. After much prayer, last night we took a long walk and finalized our plan for pursuing a closer walk with God during Lent and what we would be willing to sacrifice to do it. Tomorrow begins for us the Bright Sadness. Thank you Lord Jesus for your sacrifice, for giving all to us who deserve it not and counting us worthy.

You alone are worthy.