Folklore: Shrove Tuesday & Pancake Day Customs

Today is Pancake Day, celebrated in England on Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before the Christian priod of Lent. The idea was that people would have a bit of fun and enjoy fat, eggs and dairy products, which they weren't supposed to eat in the 40-days of abstinence before Easter.

It raises the perennial question among pagans as to whether they should celebrate anything that hints of Christianity. My personal view is that pancakes are delicious, you don't actually have to go to a church to have them, and most of the folkloric customs around Pancake Day are secular rather than religious.

In London, where I live, pancake races are an annual tradition. Here are two that you can go to watch:

• The Inter-Livery Pancake Races in Guildhall Yard is a contest organised by London guilds including the Poulters, Gunmakers, and Fruiterers. It starts at noon and proceeds got to charity. Details: www.thecityofldn.com/event/inter-livery-pancake-day-race/
• Greenwich Market Pancake Races, hosted by a Pearly Queen, are held in aid of Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice. This also starts at noon. Tickets are free, but you have to reserve a place. https://greenwichmarket.london/events/detail/pancake-race/

Football matches are a tradtional part of Shrove Tuesday activities in parts of England. The Alnwick Shrovetide football match, at Alnwick in Northumberland, is played between the residents of the two parishes of Alnwick in the pastures below Alnwick Castle. Hundreds of people take part in this free-for-all scrum with few rules except to get the ball away from the opposing side. This custom dates back to at least the 18th century, possibly earlier.

Magic, Divination and Pagan Festivals

If you want a little magic today, I've blogged in the past that you should eat pancakes to be wealthy. I've also written about how you can use a pancake for scrying!

It's also worth notiing that in some countries there are remnants of ancient pagan celebrations at this time of year. The festival of Maslenitsa, which takes place in many Eastern Slavic countries, is called Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe Week or Cheese Week in Ukraine. The festival takes place in the last week before Great Lent in the Orthodox calender, but is believed to have origins that date back to pre-Christian pagan times and marked the end of winter. Pancakes are, of course, round like the sun. 

Here's a link to a Ukranian recipes site with more about the traditions: https://ukrainian-recipes.com/traditional-celebrations-of-cheese-week-in-ukraine-why-pancakes-are-the-symbol-of-masliana.html

You can find out more about annual folklore, traditions, and seasonal magic in my book Pagan Portals - Rounding the Wheel of the Year, published by Moon Books.

Other Previous related Posts

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/eat-drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/lent-and-clutter-clearing-choices.html
https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/03/march-1-pancake-day-st-davids-day-crepe.html

March 1: Pancake Day, St David's Day & Crepe Week

Today is Pancake Day, celebrated in England on Shrove Tuesday while people in many other countries are enjoying Carnival. I've blogged about Pancake Day many times in the past, including the folkloric tradition that you should eat pancakes to be wealthy as well as the history of the day and its customs. I've even written about how you can use a pancake for scrying!

However, today is also March 1, and that's St David's Day. St David is St Dewi more correctly in Wales, where he is the patron saint of the country. So, I thought I'd offer a few links to recipes for Welsh pancakes, (crempog or crempogau), which are traditionally eaten in Wales on Shrove Tuesday. The crempog or crempogau recipes I've found make a pancake that's thicker than the ones I usually have in England. They can be stacked and eaten with butter. Here's a few sites:

• Visit Wales recipe: https://www.visitwales.com/things-do/food-and-drink/welsh-food-and-recipes/welsh-crempog-recipe
• Just a Pinch recipe: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/breakfast/pancakes/traditional-welsh-pancakes.html
  
• And here's one from Lavender and Lovage that uses yeast: https://www.lavenderandlovage.com/2021/02/welsh-crempog-crempogau.html

Looking further afield, with Ukranian people on most of our minds at the moment, a custom from that country is to eat pancakes to celebrate the start of spring. The festival of Maslenitsa, which takes place in many Eastern Slavic countries, is called Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe Week or Cheese Week in Ukraine. The festival takes place in the last week before Great Lent in the Orthodox calender, but it is believed to have origins that date back to pre-Christian pagan times and marked the end of winter. Pancakes are, of course, round like the sun.

Here's a link to a Ukranian recipes site with more about the traditions: https://ukrainian-recipes.com/traditional-celebrations-of-cheese-week-in-ukraine-why-pancakes-are-the-symbol-of-masliana.html

Photo: Pancakes mit Honig (pancakes with honey) by Marco Verch, shared under Creative Commons from the Wikipedia entry on pancakes.  

Shrove Tuesday Folklore: Eat Pancakes to be Wealthy

If you want to have plenty of money in the year ahead, you should make sure you eat plenty of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. That's a bit of folklore related in Are You Superstitious? by Lore Cowan. The book  actually goes further than that and says that it is unlucky not to have pancakes in the house on the day.

Shrove Tuesday is a Christian tradition dating back to Medieval times in England. It was the day on which people were expected to go to church to be shriven before the start of Lent. However, people were given a half day's holiday in which to do that, so naturally it also became a time for lots of other fun and games - including football matches in the streets and fields - as well as going to church. 

Pancakes have been a traditional food eaten on Shrove Tuesday for hundreds of years. Eggs, fat and dairy products were supposed to be avoided during Lent, so it became customary to eat them up during the days before, including making them into pancakes. 

Another piece of old folklore is that if you happen to have chickens and a cockerel, you should throw one of your pancakes to the cock. If he eats it all himself, then bad luck will come to your home. If he shares it with the hens, it is a sign of good fortune.

I realise some pagans try to avoid any Christian festivals, so might not be making pancakes today. Personally, I'm happy to celebrate customs simply because they are the traditions of my country. And I do enjoy pancakes.

You can find out more about festivals in February in my video talk on Magic for the Month.

Picture credit: Leo Johannes

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/02/pancake-day-what-your-pancake-says.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/03/recipe-vegan-oat-pancakes-for-pancake.html

Pancake Day: What Your Pancake Says About You

Are you a tosser or a turner?

Apparently whether you toss or turn your pancakes could say something about your personality. A survey indicated that people who toss their pancakes have more sex, take bigger risks and earn more money than those who turn them.

Most of us prefer to turn our pancakes carefully with the help of a spatula. Nevertheless, 43 per cent throw caution to the wind and flip their pancake in the air to turn it. The study uncovered that those who play it safe when it comes to their pancakes are more introvert – with 24 per cent describing themselves as shy, compared to 18 per cent of those who flip or toss.

Turners are more likely to be loyal and faithful to their partners – with 42 percent saying they have never been unfaithful, compared to just 36 percent of those who toss. However, those who toss their pancakes were revealed to have double the amount of sex than those who turn them – twice a week on average compared to just once.

Psychologist and founder of the blog Life and How to Love It! Honey Langcaster-James said “It seems that the way people cook their pancakes is reflective of the way people respond to life in general. Some people are more cautious and play it safe making them dependable and consistent but also sometimes limiting the fun they have and what they can achieve. Others are more confident and take more risks, this can be seen as flamboyant or even unreliable, but it also provides opportunities for more fun and has the potential for a bigger pay off in certain situations.”

Scrying with your pancake

Whether you toss or turn your pancakes tonight, you could also have a go at finding out more about yourself - or what the future might hold - by scrying with your pancake. Scrying is a word for divination or fortune-telling by looking into things for messages or signs.

Once you have cooked your pancake, look at where the batter has cooked unevenly. The shapes and patterns that have formed by the darker and lighter areas on the pancake's surface could have a message for you. You can read your pancake in much the same way as you might read tea leaves, but looking for symbols and pictures and interpreting what they might mean. What do they remind you of?

If you want to eat your pancake before it gets cold, take a photo of it before you cover it with maple syrup, honey, or sugar and lemon. Then, after you have eaten it, you can scry into the photo of your pancake at your leisure.

Photo: Pancakes mit Honig (pancakes with honey) by Marco Verch, shared under Creative Commons from the Wikipedia entry on pancakes.  The survey mentioned in this post was a poll of 2,000 Brits by Clarks Maple Syrup 

Recipe: Vegan Oat Pancakes for Pancake Day

Today being Pancake Day, I thought I'd share my recipe for oat pancakes. They are really tasty, very cheap and also ideal for people who have to avoid flour, eggs or milk in their diets. They are vegan, too. All they contain are oats and water plus oil to fry them in and some sugar or other sweetener to go on top.

I came up with the recipe when I was a poor student. Although I wasn't a vegan or allergic to flour, eggs or milk, I was looking for cheap food and found I liked them so much I still make them today.

I do apologise that I don't have amounts listed against the ingredients as I just put in what looks right.

What you need:

Porridge oats (or muesli if you prefer)
Water
Cooking oil
Sugar or other sweetener.

First you put some oats in a jug and pour enough cold water on top to cover them. Then you leave the oats to soak in the water for a couple of hours until they are very soft.

Heat some oil in a frying pan. You need quite a bit more oil to cook oat pancakes than regular ones. When the oil is hot, ladle in a good dollop of the soaked oats mixture and then spread it out in the pan to form a thick pancake. Fry it until the oats have formed a solid shape, which they will eventually. You can agitate the pancake with a spatula while it is cooking to stop it burning.

When it is solid, carefully turn it over in the frying pan using the spatula to cook the other side.

You can slide the pancake onto a plate when it is fully cooked and golden brown on both sides. Sprinkle sugar or other sweetener on top, then enjoy!

The pancake in the photo was made with muesli rather than oats.

Previous related post
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/eat-drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we.html

Pancake Day is a Sad Time For Me

On Pancake Day two years ago, my mother had a fatal heart attack. It was the second heart attack she had suffered and, oddly, the first also happened on a Pancake Day.

On Shrove Tuesday 10 years ago I got back from my friend's pancake party, having had a good evening, to see there were several messages on my answerphone. They were from the hospital and gave me the news of what had happened. Of course, I rushed straight there to be at my mother's bedside.

My mother survived her first attack - thanks to treatment she got under the NHS. The second time she was not so fortunate. Although the hospital staff tried to save her, she lost consciousness and did not recover.

So Pancake Day is now a sad time for me. Although every year on Pancake Day my friend still holds a party, I find it hard to be cheerful on that particular anniversary.

Instead of feeling in any mood to celebrate, I just want a bit of time to remember my mum.

Traditionally, Pancake Day - or Shrove Tuesday - marks the start of Lent. For Christians Lent is a season of abstinence before Easter. I prefer to think of it as a time for letting go of things that are no longer needed, even if doing that is tough. And what I am going to do this year is finally go through things that belonged to my mother, which I boxed up after her death and stored.

I did declutter quite a bit following her death. Her wheelchair went to someone else who needed one. I donated most of her clothes to a charity shop run by British Heart Foundation - it seemed appropriate. I also got rid of some larger items of furniture that I had no use for. But many of her personal belongings just got boxed up and bunged in a spare room because I couldn't face going through them.

The photo at the top shows my mother when she was young. I don't know where it was taken, who took it, or who she is waving at in the picture. It was one of the photos I found when I boxed up her stuff after she died. She looks so lovely in the picture, yet looking at it makes me cry. I know it won't be easy going through her stuff and facing more things that make me feel so sad. But it has to be done.

I know that most of what I put into storage is not really stuff  I need. Some things I will keep for sentimental reasons - such as the family photos - but much of it needs to go. Then I will have space in my spare room again, which really is more use to me than a pile of boxes I dread looking inside.

But I won't actually start that sorting today. This evening I will make pancakes in mum's memory - she would have wanted that, I think.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.bhf.org.uk/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/03/we-are-all-made-of-stars.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/pancake-day.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/03/festival-of-week-pancake-day.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/eat-drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/lent-and-clutter-clearing-choices.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/03/my-mother.html

Eastern European Pagan Origins of Pancake Day

Here are a two recent news stories on the web about the pagan origins of Shrove Tuesday - or Pancake Day - in Eastern Europe.

The Voice of Russia: The origin of Shrovetide celebrations in Russia was Maslenitsa, a pagan feast that symbolised the end of winter and the beginning of spring: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_02_17/66307179/

KyivPost: In the ancient Ukraine, pagans celebrated the increasing sunlight with festivals called Kolodiy and Maslyana: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/guide/sevendays/spec/detail/122625/#ixzz1n0XwGjjx

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/02/lent-and-clutter-clearing-choices.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/pancake-day.html

Lent and Clutter Clearing Choices

Today is Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Day in the UK and the time for the festival of Mardi Gras in some other countries. Traditionally, it is a day for having a party before the austerities of Lent, which is a Christian time of abstinence before Easter.

Although I am a pagan, I tend to feel that Lent, in late February or March, seems a much better time for diets and decluttering than January, when many people try to start austere New Year's resolutions.

For me, the cold days and dark nights of January are a time to batten down the hatches and snuggle up in front of the telly while using up all those fattening goodies left over from Yule.

By Lent, with the warm days of spring just around the corner, I feel ready to try to shed unwanted baggage from my life as well as my waistline.

I'm not usually too bad at swapping chocolates for snacks of fresh fruit for a few weeks over Lent, spurred on by my desire not to look like a blob in summer frocks and swimwear, but when it comes to unwanted household baggage, I'm not good at decluttering. As fast as I take stuff I no longer need down to the charity shop, I fill my home up with new things. Neither am I a person who enjoys housework - and I can't afford to employ a cleaner.

So, when I was offered a review copy of the book Clutter Clearing Choices: Clear Clutter, Organize Your Home, and Reclaim Your Lifeby Barbara Tako, I decided it was a good opportunity to get tips from an expert and try to learn some good decluttering skills.

I was a little bit wary that Barbara Tako might be one of those professional declutterers who preaches throwing out everything and anything you haven't used for a month. If I did that, most of my book collection would go - and I wasn't going to let that happen!

However, as soon as I started reading the book I was delighted to find it wasn't like that at all. Instead, it offers a huge variety of tips and suggestions for decluttering with the understanding that everyone's lives and needs are different. The purpose of decluttering is to free up time and space for things that are important in your life, not to junk stuff that holds memories simply because it is a bit old.

The book works through the year, tackling issues appropriate to the season - which seems a very pagan way of looking at life. It starts in winter, and agrees with my view that the best thing to do at that time of year is slow down and pamper yourself. By tackling the winter blues, you will be more ready to face spring cleaning at, well, this time of year.

When you finally decide to tackle the clutter, Barbara recommends starting small. Many of us are put off decluttering because the task seems huge. There is no need to be a perfectionist and try to get everything sorted at once, you are more likely to end up feeling a sense of failure.

Begin with something like sorting out your underwear drawer - matching up pairs of socks, organising undies into sections and throwing out anything with holes in it. You will find it not only looks neater, it saves you time when getting dressed in the morning. Then congratulate yourself for this small achievement.

Once your socks are organised, move on to other drawers when you have time. Sorting out a single drawer or shelf should only take about 15 minutes, so it is something that can be fitted into spare moments without being too daunting.

The 'as you go' method is another way of decluttering that doesn't take all day. This means getting into the habit of decluttering as part of your daily routine. For example, when you are in the bathroom, make a point of checking for expired medicines and empty containers, then get rid of them. Keep a donation box and, as you notice stuff that you would happily give to the charity shop, put it into the box. This could include things like clothes that no longer fit you, mugs at the back of the kitchen cupboard that never get used or ornaments that you don't really like any more.

If you do decide to put a whole day aside for decluttering, get three big boxes. Move systematically from room to room. Put stuff to recycle in the first box, put things you don't want that are good enough for the charity shop in the second box and use the third box for things that are simply in the wrong place.

However, Clutter Clearing Choices is about far more than just getting rid of unwanted household goods - it is also about organising, simplifying and prioritising your life so you have more time to do the things you want and be with the people you love. It is about listening to your own heart rather than being carried along by adverts that imply you will only be happy if you buy a new sofa, car or fitted bathroom.

It is about keeping what you want, and learning to let go of things that are unimportant.

To me, that seems a good lesson to learn for anyone to learn - pagan or otherwise - at this time of Lent.

Clutter Clearing Choices: Clear Clutter, Organize Your Home, and Reclaim Your Life is published by O Books. It is available through Amazon and has an RRP of £11.99.

Links
Clutter Clearing Choices: Clear Clutter, Organize Your Home, and Reclaim Your Life
http://www.o-books.com/obookssite/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/pancake-day.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/eat-drink-and-be-merry-for-tomorrow-we.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/review-joey-yaps-pure-feng-shui.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2010/01/resolutions-successes-and-failures.html

Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we diet...

Shrove Tuesday - also known as Pancake Day - is a Christian festival representing the last day before Lent, a 40-day period of fasting in the run-up to Easter, when Christians honour the death and resurrection of Christ.

The 40 days of abstinence represent the time Jesus spent in the desert where, according to the Bible, he was tempted by the devil. To commemorate this, Christians would traditionally go through a period of self-denial.

This might involve being vegetarian for 40 days, abstaining from alcohol or giving up some other luxury. As a child, I once gave up chocolate for Lent. Being a chocoholic, I can say it was tough going, although I really appreciated all those chocolate Easter eggs at the end of it!

But why am I, a pagan and a witch, talking about the Christian festivals of Shrove Tuesday, Lent and Easter?

Well, putting aside any religious meanings for these dates, I believe this is the ideal time of year to go on a diet, give up smoking or put into practice any resolutions for being fitter, slimmer or healthier that we make at the start of the New Year. January is just too cold and miserable to make dieting easy. Also, most people have loads of goodies left over from the Yule festivities and it is hard to stick to green salads when a huge box of choccies is staring at you.

By late February, the weather has often got a little milder, the days are longer and we are all starting to think of casting off our woollies and making plans for summer. That adds a big incentive to any desire to get slim, trim and fit. Also, the 40 days of Lent give us a definite time period for our abstinence. We can count the days down to the end of it and feel reassured that the misery of a diet is not going to go on forever.

Fasting - or willingly giving up food or drink - is also a traditional spiritual activity in many faiths, including paganism. It can involve abstaining from all food or drink or just certain things, such as meat or alcohol. It is almost always for a specific time period, such as for 24 hours or between sunrise and sunset. Wiccans are usually asked to fast on the day of their initiation.

Stephen Harrod Buhner, in Fasting Path: The Way to Spiritual, Physical and Emotional Enlightenment, says:

"Fasting has long been recognised for its ability to increase one's sensitivity to the nonmaterial world, to enhance one's personal experience of the sacredness of the self and the universe, and to help one gain a sense of orientation and purpose. In order to be truly transformed, you must first empty yourself."

I have to admit that fasting is not something I like doing. I very much enjoy my food, while a rumbling tummy makes me grumpy. However, when I put on a favourite dress the other day and realised my arse really did look big in it, I accepted it was time to diet - at least until all those Easter eggs arrive.

But, before the fasting starts, tonight is Pancake Night and I intend to eat, drink and be merry because, in a paraphrase of a famous saying "Tomorrow we diet".

Note: You should always consult your doctor before fasting or dieting, and if you feel unwell. Long fasts should always be done under medical supervision.

Links:
Fasting Path: The Way to Spiritual, Physical and Emotional Enlightenment
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/pancake-day.html
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/origins-of-easter.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2007/12/new-year-resolutions.html

Pancake Day

Today is Shrove Tuesday, what we call Pancake Day in England. In other countries it is Carnival or Mardi Gras. Whether you are eating up the last of the sugar and butter or getting dressed up for a masked ball, it is a day for having a party before the austerities of Lent.

Lent, of course, is a Christian tradition, a time of abstinence before Easter, and you might wonder why a pagan is mentioning it. Well, I am happy to honour pretty much anyone's god if it means a party. I am also partial to pancakes.

If you look hard, you can find some links to paganism within traditional Shrove Tuesday events. Someone pointed out to me that the round, golden pancake is a solar symbol and may once have been made in honour of Apollo, the sun god. Mardi Gras and Carnival may hark back to Roman Saturnalia, which was also a time for dressing up and putting on disguises.

In England, the Alnwick Shrovetide football match, at Alnwick in Northumberland, possibly dates back to pre-Christian times. It is played between the residents of the two parishes of Alnwick in the pastures below Alnwick Castle. Hundreds of people take part in this free-for-all scrum with few rules except to get the ball away from the opposing side. Gory legend has it that in ancient times this was played using a human head for a ball.

Here are links for more information on Shrove Tuesday traditions:

www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/curious/calendar.htm
www.cardfountain.com/holiday_info/carnival.php

Here is a basic pancake recipe: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/basilpancakswithsuga_66226.shtml

The pancake picture was supplied by: www.freefoto.com/