# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Big\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@Big\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Blue)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/21 "2010-02-13T18:37:22Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > That’s funny, because for my mom’s Slovak Pennsylvania family, it’s Doughnut Day. Exactly what I came to say! (Is this my sister?? Only kidding.) Same heritage, Pennsylvania Slovak. My grandma always made donuts on donut day. They were simple but wonderful. Traditional, cake-like fried donuts that we would sprinkle with powdered sugar. Grandma had a donut cutter which is similar to a cookie cutter but deeper with a built in ring to cut the hole. Very important kitchen tool in upstate Pennsylvania. Being at grandmas on Donut Day was a great thing! I’m not religious and don’t observe lent, but I did easily partake in the pre-lent tradition of fresh donuts. It would have been sacrilegious not to. Everyone in town seemed to celebrate donut day. I have never heard of the pancake tradition, other than the potato pancakes the nuns from the churches in Grandmas town made and sold for various fundraisers. Grandma made them pretty frequently and my mom still does. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/22 "2010-02-13T19:20:34Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > 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. before lent we have one week where you can eat what you want what ever day you want it. the next week meat products are out. then you have the last week before lent when you go dairy crazy the week hello again mentions above. that week ends on sunday with a big blini blowout. some churches will have big blini dinners. lent begins at sundown with the forgiveness day vespers. some church will tack it onto the end of liturgy, some will wait until around sundown (after the blini dinner). no more meat or dairy (and fish except for certain days) until pascha. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/23 "2010-02-13T20:01:47Z")
I’m an atheist Jew who is unclear on exactly what Shrove Tuesday is supposed to celebrate, but here in Michigan, and in Chicago, where I used to live, Packzi Day is a pretty big deal. I’d never even heard of the things until I moved to the Midwest, but everyone apparently needs to eat a pazcki on Packzi Day. I have found the good will deep in my soul to join in on this holiday. Oh, the pain and horror of eating a packzi. The things we do to fit into the local culture. ---
**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, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/24 "2010-02-13T20:17:10Z")
I think we all applaud your admirable fortitude and dedication to the cause of ecumenical harmony. ---
**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, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/25 "2010-02-13T23:51:27Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’m an atheist Jew who is unclear on exactly what Shrove Tuesday is supposed to celebrate, but here in Michigan, and in Chicago, where I used to live, Packzi Day is a pretty big deal. I’d never even heard of the things until I moved to the Midwest, but everyone apparently needs to eat a pazcki on Packzi Day. I have found the good will deep in my soul to join in on this holiday. Oh, the pain and horror of eating a packzi. The things we do to fit into the local culture. Whether it’s called Mardi Gras or Carnival or Shrove Tuesday, the concept is the same: the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. During the 40 Days of Lent, Christians were expected to fast or, at the very least, to pledge to give up something they enjoyed. Hence, the Tuesday before Lent, one (over)indulges in food, drink, partying, whatever it was one was planning to give up for the next 40 days. Today, of course, Mardi Gras has become a nearly secular holiday, and people of all faiths (or none) will (over)indulge on Tuesday without having the slightest intention of giving up anything later. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/26 "2010-02-13T23:54:56Z")
> [@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) I have never understood the appeal of a 200000000000 calorie laden diabetic inducing coma donut. Packzi’s haven’t always been SO HUGE. I would say in the last 15 years the marketing of them has taken off. No one I knew growing up in the burbs ever heard of them. If we aren’t careful, Packzi’s are going to take over the world. ---
**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 14, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/27 "2010-02-14T00:20:01Z")
Quoth **Rilchiam** : > [@](#): > > That’s funny, because for my mom’s Slovak Pennsylvania family, it’s Doughnut Day. That too; I just didn’t mention them because the OP was asking about pancakes. If it’s a good day to eat pancakes, and it’s a good day to eat doughnuts, then it’s an even better day to eat both. And I’m aware that Masilenitsa started off pagan, but it’s been co-opted into serving as the pre-Lent festival as well. Heck, most Christian holidays have pagan roots. ---
**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 14, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/28 "2010-02-14T00:29:38Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I have never understood the appeal of a 200000000000 calorie laden diabetic inducing coma donut. > > Packzi’s haven’t always been SO HUGE. I would say in the last 15 years the marketing of them has taken off. No one I knew growing up in the burbs ever heard of them. If we aren’t careful, Packzi’s are going to take over the world. Huh. The one I eat (per year) is donut-sized. Cut in half, stuffed with fresh strawberries. Mmmmm… ---
**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 14, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/29 "2010-02-14T02:27:43Z")
> [@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? A YOUNG Catholic, I see. Part of the “I gave up chocolate for Lent” generation. That’s supposed to be “penance?” That’s “self sacrifice?” Well, me boyo, you don’t know the first thing about the mortification of the flesh, you don’t. Back in my day we had FLAGELLANTS, fer Christ’s sake. They gladly whipped themselves and each other because they were offering up their pain for the greater glory of God, they did. Well, that’s what they said, though I don’t know how ball gags and latex body suits fit in, theologically. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/30 "2010-02-14T02:40:40Z")
Where I grew up, there were like two Catholics in town, so my exposure to Catholic holidays was limited to Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day, and I reckon those just because they’re an excuse to drink to excess. ---
**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 14, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/31 "2010-02-14T02:46:53Z")
And if your flesh ain’t mortified the morning after Mardi Gras you just didn’t get into the spirit of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/32 "2010-02-14T02:55:01Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > 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. 😃 That was brilliant. Are you Terry Pratchett? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/33 "2010-02-14T18:02:02Z")
Raised Catholic in the 1960s/1970s in Pennsylvania, where Catholics aren’t at all a rarity, and I’d never heard of Pancake Tuesday until about 5 years ago. We didn’t even call it “Shrove Tuesday” or “Mardi Gras”, I heard those terms in books when I was a teenager. ---
**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 15, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/34 "2010-02-15T17:00:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The Irish figure they can drink and carouse the 364 other days of the year. Well I think Good Friday is the only day where booze sales are prohibited so let’s say 363 except in leap years. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/35 "2010-02-15T21:18:41Z")
> [@Duck\_Quack\_s\_Echo](#): > > Now, having lived in Australia since 1971, I’ve assumed the tradition of eating pancakes with lemon and sugar for ‘Pancake Tuesday’. At the station this morning someone was handing them out for free, complete with lemon and sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/36 "2010-02-15T21:21:15Z")
In my area it is called FastNaught Day, but most people will eat any kind of donut rather than the traditional Fastnaught (which I find to be less enjoyable.) ---
**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 16, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/37 "2010-02-16T15:56:33Z")
Mmmm… just had a paczki. Strawberry-filled. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/38 "2010-02-16T15:59:16Z")
I had never heard of it before, but the cafeteria at work is serving a big pancake breakfast/brunch today, so I guess it is in some places, at least. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/39 "2010-02-16T16:04:38Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > If we aren’t careful, Packzi’s are going to take over the world. They’ll team up with the blancmanges, and try to win Wimbledon! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826/40 "2010-02-16T16:06:46Z")
Pancake Day is probably the thing I miss most about England, believe it or not. Pancakes in America are awful - big fat doughy things. It never occurred to me that there was any other kind of pancake other than crepe-style ones until I got here, and I still don’t understand why there is. > [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I have never understood the appeal of a 200000000000 calorie laden diabetic inducing coma donut. I understand it just from reading this sentence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-tradition-of-pancakes-on-shrove-tuesday-in-the-us/528826.md?page=3)