# Is There Any Tradition of Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826 "2010-02-13T05:19:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f0a364/32.png) [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Quack_s_Echo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/1 "2010-02-13T05:19:41Z")
I grew up in Kentucky in the fifties and sixties (well forties too but I was too young to remember) and only remember emulating the Cajuns and having Creole food on Shrove Tuesday and having a big feast before the beginning of Lent. Now, having lived in Australia since 1971, I’ve assumed the tradition of eating pancakes with lemon and sugar for ‘Pancake Tuesday’. It’s the only time I eat pancakes at all and certainly without maple syrup. The Brits also have the tradition of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Do any of you Americans have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/2 "2010-02-13T05:25:32Z")
Episcopal churches in the U.S. often have pancake suppers on Shrove Tuesday. Even my Catholic family in New York did it now and then. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/3 "2010-02-13T05:28:08Z")
My Evangelical Lutheran parish does it. It’s a symbolic using up of the sugar, eggs, and grease in the house before Lent. ETA: It’s also a chance to eat sausage and pancakes without cleaning up after my wife, who cannot prepare any “breakfast” food without making a mess for those who come after. Including cold cereal because we find her bowls all over the house with dried casein paint on the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/4 "2010-02-13T06:26:21Z")
Every day is Pancake Day in the US. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/5 "2010-02-13T06:33:58Z")
It’s my favourite day of the year but what does it say about the Irish and British that they eat pancakes when others have Mardi Gras or Karnival? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/6 "2010-02-13T06:50:08Z")
The members of some faiths shy away from alcohol. Others do as individuals. And for others it’s situational. Old joke: Q: How do you get a member of your parish from drinking all your beer? A: Invite another member of your parish. Didn’t work with Catholics, who saw every holy day’s eve as an excuse. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/7 "2010-02-13T06:53:55Z")
It’s the tradition in my family of Irish and Germans living in an area of western PA that’s mostly Slavic. I don’t know which of those heritages it comes from. Apparently, it’s also the tradition in Russia, since one of the Russian grad students has a pancake party every year for Maslenitsa (the Russian equivalent of Shrove Tuesday). ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/8 "2010-02-13T08:38:22Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > It’s my favourite day of the year but what does it say about the Irish and British that they eat pancakes when others have Mardi Gras or Karnival? I’m probably over-simplifying wildly, but I’d guess that after a century of persecuting catholics, then persecuting protestants, then catholics again, and finally ending up with Cromwell persecuting everyone, we more or less decided that large numbers of people taking to the streets to celebrate a minor religious holiday was just asking for trouble. Plus, of course, it’s usually pissing down. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/9 "2010-02-13T08:48:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It’s the tradition in my family of Irish and Germans living in an area of western PA that’s mostly Slavic. I don’t know which of those heritages it comes from. That’s funny, because for my mom’s Slovak Pennsylvania family, it’s Doughnut Day. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/10 "2010-02-13T11:45:31Z")
In the Detroit area, Fat Tuesday is when we eat Packzi (pronounced punchki). They are super-fat donuts that use up all remaining lard and sugar. There was a sizable Polish settlement in the middle of Detroit (Hamtramck) and brought this tradition with them. It quickly caught on with their neighbors. Looking at wikipedia, several mid-western cities eat packzi instead of pancakes, including Chicago. [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packzi) ---
**Author:** ![kdeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@kdeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kdeus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/11 "2010-02-13T12:00:56Z")
Growing up, pancakes for dinner every Shrove Tuesday. We’re from Maryland, Italian by descent & by way of North Jersey, and Catholic at the time. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/12 "2010-02-13T12:22:21Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > It’s a symbolic using up of the sugar, eggs, and grease in the house before Lent. I grew up Catholic and never heard of this (or the doughnut thing), although we observed Lent. When we lived in England there was “Pancake Day” and the children at school ate pancakes for lunch, but there didn’t seem to be any religiosity assigned to it. My question then is why would you want to use up all the sugar, eggs and grease before Lent? Are pancakes forbidden during Lent? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/13 "2010-02-13T12:42:54Z")
> [@Wolverine](#): > > In the Detroit area, Fat Tuesday is when we eat Packzi (pronounced punchki). They are super-fat donuts that use up all remaining lard and sugar. There was a sizable Polish settlement in the middle of Detroit (Hamtramck) and brought this tradition with them. It quickly caught on with their neighbors. > > Looking at wikipedia, several mid-western cities eat packzi instead of pancakes, including Chicago. > > [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packzi) Yup, Chicagoan here who ignores Shrove Tuesday but looooooves “Paczki Day.” The bakery division at my work place offers paczki, King Cakes, and other suitable goodies around that day. ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/14 "2010-02-13T14:22:12Z")
> [@legalsnugs](#): > > I grew up Catholic and never heard of this (or the doughnut thing), although we observed Lent. When we lived in England there was “Pancake Day” and the children at school ate pancakes for lunch, but there didn’t seem to be any religiosity assigned to it. > > My question then is why would you want to use up all the sugar, eggs and grease before Lent? Are pancakes forbidden during Lent? Originally, Lent was a time of fasting, in memory of the time Christ spent wandering the desert being tempted by Satan. Exact rituals varied, but no meat or animal products and only one meal a day were common themes. Generally, anything that spoke of culinary luxury was frowned upon during the 40-day period leading up to Easter - hence, no butter, eggs, etc. The fasting tradition has been largely dropped by mainstream Christianity, but many people will give up a particular luxury such as chocolate for Lent, and some people will still go so far as to abstain from eating meat. It depends on how traditional one’s parish is, and I think is still more common elsewhere than the USA and Canada. Anecdata: There is a Filipino lady in my office who gives up meat for Lent - our friday lunches always feature a veggie/cheese pizza for her. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/15 "2010-02-13T14:56:58Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > That’s funny, because for my mom’s Slovak Pennsylvania family, it’s Doughnut Day. Yes, Fasnacht Day. The donut palaces’ marquees all remind us that Fasnacht Day is quickly coming, and that we should get our orders in. Many workplaces and churches offer donuts on that day, sometimes to raise money by selling them. Since I’m Jewish, it doesn’t make much difference, but I’m happy to kick in for a donut. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/16 "2010-02-13T14:57:41Z")
> [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](#): > > I’ve assumed the tradition of eating pancakes with lemon and sugar for ‘Pancake Tuesday’. I’m very curious about the lemon and sugar part. When I read that, I kind of envisioned mixing lemon juice with confectioners’ sugar, making a glaze. But maybe that’s not it at all. How DO you apply lemon and sugar to pancakes? Or is it part of the batter? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/17 "2010-02-13T15:23:34Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > It’s my favourite day of the year but what does it say about the Irish and British that they eat pancakes when others have Mardi Gras or Karnival? The Irish figure they can drink and carouse the 364 other days of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/18 "2010-02-13T15:41:10Z")
Liberal, KS (about as misnamed as it gets) has a yearly pancake race with Olney, England. > **[International Pancake Race - Liberal, Kansas](https://www.lasr.net/travel/city.php?City_ID=KS1019015&VA=Y&Attraction_ID=KS1019015a009)** > > Visit International Pancake Race while traveling to Liberal, Kansas located at .A tradition since 1950, the International running of the Pancake Race has become a symbolic event of peace and unity between the Untied States and England. > > Pancake... ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/19 "2010-02-13T16:12:01Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I’m very curious about the lemon and sugar part. When I read that, I kind of envisioned mixing lemon juice with confectioners’ sugar, making a glaze. But maybe that’s not it at all. How DO you apply lemon and sugar to pancakes? Or is it part of the batter? Just sprinkle the sugar on, give it a splash of lemon juice, and eat. These are crêpe-type pancakes, you realise, not the kind more common in America. [Here’s a recipe.](http://www.lakeland.co.uk/090219-pancake) ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/20 "2010-02-13T18:12:24Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Apparently, it’s also the tradition in Russia, since one of the Russian grad students has a pancake party every year for Maslenitsa (the Russian equivalent of Shrove Tuesday). Actually, Maslenitsa as a holiday precedes Christianity in Russia, having its origins in pagan ceremonies calling back the sun in the depths of winter. The blini and other round foods which are eaten, represent the sun. Unlike Shrove Tuesday it is a week long holiday that _ends_ on the first day of Lent. Note that because the Eastern Orthodox Chruch does not calculate Easter the same way, it does not normally fall on the day designated Shrove Tuesday in the western Christian demoninations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826.md?page=2)