Communities across the area will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday with pancake suppers. The Trinity United Church is scheduled to host its celebration on February 3. Shrove Tuesday (known in some countries as “Pancake Days”) is a day in February or March preceding Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent), which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes. In others, especially those (including Louisiana) where it is called Mardi Gras or some translation thereof, this is a carnival day, and also the last day of "fat eating" or "gorging" before the fasting period of Lent.
This moveable festival is determined by Easter. The expression "Shrove Tuesday" comes from the word shrive, meaning absolve. Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Roman Catholics who make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God's help in dealing with.
Being the last day before the penitential season of Lent, related popular practices, such as indulging in food that one sacrifices for the upcoming 40 days, are associated with Shrove Tuesday celebrations, before commencing the fasting and religious obligations associated with Lent. The term Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.
The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confessionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession_(religion)and doing penance. Thus Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the custom for Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is the last day of "shrovetide", somewhat analogous to the carnival tradition that developed separately in various countries of Latin Europe.
