But there's more to Shrove Tuesday than pigging out on pancakes or taking part in a public pancake race. The pancakes themselves are part of an ancient custom with deeply religious roots. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving that Christians used to undergo in the past. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution for them. When a person receives absolution for their sins, they are forgiven for them and released from the guilt and pain that they have caused them.
This tradition is very old. Over years ago a monk wrote in the Anglo-Saxon Ecclesiastical Institutes:. In the week immediately before Lent everyone shall go to his confessor and confess his deeds and the confessor shall so shrive him.
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. 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. Pancake races are thought to have begun in 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. One of the most famous pancake races is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire over a 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 Olney has competed with Liberal in Kansas, which holds an identical race, to see which town can produce the fastest competitor. That time can also be replaced with more time connecting with God.
For example, some people spend time volunteering or donate money they would normally use to buy something, like their morning coffee. People are flawed and will never be good enough for a perfect God. Only Jesus has the power to rescue us from ourselves. Jesus sacrificed Himself on Good Friday to bear the punishment for all our wrongdoings and offer us forgiveness. He was raised from the dead on Easter Sunday to give us an opportunity to have a relationship with God for eternity.
Interested in learning more about Lent? Do you want to observe it but need guidance? The death and resurrection of Jesus is the big storyline of the Bible. But did you know some people start getting ready for Easter 40 days before it happens?
During this season of Lent, allow God to lead you into a time of reflection and surrender. You stand to gain far more than you have to lose. There are 40 non-sabbath days until Easter Sunday. The church sets apart Easter to more fully celebrate and remember Jesus's finished work on the cross—the work that conquered death.
What is Christianity? Learn the basics of what Christians believe. Dealing with Life's Questions Explore answers to life's biggest questions. Read about individuals who have been transformed by faith. When I look into the eyes of our suffering God, I'm in awe - suddenly the complexity of our Lord, the love of our Lord, the humanity of our Lord shows through.
I realize God is not just some nebulous energy source or a grandfather sitting in the clouds - He is so much more. The Cross is where our faith stands when all other faiths fail. Christ's sacrifice and his subsequent resurrection are the true "cruxes" of the Christian faith. Without one there would be no salvation, without the other, no hope. This is why Good Friday and the following Easter Sunday are the most important dates on the Christian calendar - even more so than Christmas.
Lent is a day season not counting Sundays marked by repentance, fasting, reflection, and ultimately celebration. Learn more about the meaning and traditions of Ash Wednesday. The Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday on February 17, ; if you are following the 40 days tradition, Lent ends on Holy Saturday, April 3, For those adhering to that tradition, Lent will end on Thursday, April 1st. So where does Lent come from, and how do we "do" Lent? The Lenten season developed as part of the historical Christian calendar and is typically celebrated by Catholics and some mainline Protestant churches that follow a liturgical calendar.
Although its format has varied throughout the centuries and throughout different cultures, the basic concept remains the same: to open our hearts to God's refining grace through prayer, confession, fasting, and almsgiving as we anticipate Holy Week. Lent traditionally lasts forty days, modeled after Christ's forty-day fast in the desert, and ends on Good Friday. In the Western Church, Lent officially begins with a reminder of our mortality on Ash Wednesday this year, falling on February 17th.
Download your copy HERE. As with Advent, you can benefit from celebrating Lent even if your church does not formally do so.
Here are some of the key elements of the Lenten season, along with some of the symbolism that comes with it. Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter.
It is also a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.
Lent is traditionally observed by Catholics and some Protestant denominations. It began as a way for Catholics to remind themselves of the value of repentance.
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