Did you eat pancakes last night? As usual I ran into a few people who don’t know the significance of Shrove tuesday and Ash Wednesday. When I was a child this stuff was taught at Sunday School, Church and school. But no-one goes to Sunday School any more, teaching traditions has fallen out of fashion at Church, and we’re far too PC to teach religion in school nowadays. So if you don’t know what it’s all about, and would like to, read on:Lent is the six and a half weeks before Easter when the Church is in a period of fasting – i.e. reducing one’s consumption of food and other comestibles to a simple level. Traditionally, meat was off the menu, and all animal products, dairy foods and sweet things. (This is the same reason why Catholics traditionally eat fish on a Friday, as friday is always a Fast, so no meat). There are occasional feast days within Lent – many Churches pause their fast on a Sunday, for instance. But traditionally you would not get married during Lent. The point of Lent is not so much to give things up, but actively to return to faithfulness to Christ; not to improve ourselves, but to allow ourselves to be drawn into God’s transforming power. I must say, though, that in a society increasingly in failing health through obesity and heart disease, a return to the pattern of fasting and feasting would be no bad thing, for our physical as well as our spiritual health.

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent; and with the fast about to begin, people would use up all their remaining rich foods – eggs and fat to make the pancakes, which were then eaten with any leftover meat or sugar. Not so much a “last treat”, more of an economic using up of the leftovers. The word shrove comes from Middle English, the same root as shrive or shriven, referring to absolution or pronouncing of forgiveness (remember the Ancient Mariner? Oh shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man…)  

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, and during the communion Ashes, mixed with holy oil, are pressed onto the foreheads of the communicants. The Ashes (made by burning Palm Crosses from Palm Sunday the previous year) represent death. The prayer or ‘motto’ of the day is this: “Remember that you are but dust: from dust you came, and to dust you shall return. Turn from sin and be faithful to Christ. ”

Last night I made our ashes, ironed the linens and checked supplies of oil. We’re all ready.

Have a good Lent, everyone.