Pancake Day can have a deeper meaning

War Cry's Ewan Hall explores the true meaning behind Shrove Tuesday.

Get your frying pans ready – Pancake Day is being served next Tuesday (4 March). Whether enjoyed with the traditional lemon juice and caster sugar, covered in golden syrup or with a savoury filling, pancakes make the day a tasty prospect.

There are written recipes for pancakes going back centuries. But Tuesday – also known as Shrove Tuesday – is the day of the year when these flat favourites are celebrated the most. And those celebrations go beyond just eating them.

Races are a regular part of the day. Contestants will run – often in fancy dress – flipping their pancake as they sprint to the finishing line.

The tradition is said to date back to 1445 when a woman from Olney, Buckinghamshire, heard the church bell summoning people to church. She raced out of her house while still in her apron and clutching her frying pan.

Olney has continued the race to this day. Women wearing an apron and a hat or scarf, with frying pan in hand, race round a course to the church.

But there is also a deeper meaning behind Shrove Tuesday, which is a day of fun that precedes the more reflective period of Lent. During the 40 days of Lent, Christians prepare for Easter, the time when they mark the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The name Shrove Tuesday comes from the Middle Age practice of shriving, which is a confession of wrongdoings, in preparation for Lent. The day is also  known as 'Mardi Gras' – the French for ‘Fat Tuesday’ – in reference to the fact that Christians used up all their fatty foods such as meat, eggs and milk before a time of fasting.

For Christians, Lent is a period to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made so that everybody has the opportunity to experience a loving relationship with God – even though no one deserves it, because of the wrong things they do.

When talking about the death of Jesus, one early Church teacher said: ‘Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many’ (Hebrews 9:28 New International Version).

Regardless of who we are or what we have done, if we decide to follow Jesus, then we can know God’s love in our own lives – which is a recipe for a life offering new meaning, fulfilment and purpose.