Shrove Tuesday | Mama Lisa's World Blog

Pancake Day – Some Songs, Rhymes and Proverbs

Friday, February 24th, 2006

Last week I talked about the celebrations that take place before the fasting for Lent, which include Carnival and Mardi Gras.

One fun occasion is Pancake Day in Great Britain, which takes place on Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is the day before the start of Lent. The word “Shrove” comes from “shriving”, which means confessing your sins. Originally, people went to church on this day to confess their sins before Lent. The church bell would ring as a call for people to go shriving.

The idea of Pancake Day came next, its purpose was to use up the milk and eggs in the house before Lent, during which time they weren’t supposed to be eaten.

In one town in Britain called Olney, Pancake Races began.

The legend is that these races started back in 1445. A woman was making pancakes and she heard the bell to go to church to shrive. She was in such a rush that she forgot to put down her frying pan. She ran all the way to church with it! Now women of Olney follow the tradition that began way back then, and they race with a frying pan with a pancake in it. One rule is that they have to flip the pancake at least three times during the race.

Today in some communities the church bells ring on Shrove Tuesday, not to remind the people to go to church to confess, rather, to remind them to make pancakes!

Pancake Day is also celebrated in the US, in the town of Liberal, Kansas. Liberal was always known for being “flat as a pancake”. I suppose it was that reputation that inspired the town to contact Olney, in England, to suggest a competition. Since then, the two towns have kept track of their respective Pancake Races to see who makes the better time.

These days, the festivities have grown to a three day “Pancake Festival” in Liberal, including pancake eating and flipping competitions and many other activities. (Liberal sounds like a fun place to live. It also hosts the annual “Oz Fest” on October 14 -15, as a tribute to Dorothy and her longing to return to Kansas in The Wizard of Oz.)

Here are some songs for Pancake Day…

Pancake Day is a very happy day,
If we don’t have a holiday we’ll all run away,
Where shall we run, up High Lane,
And here comes the teacher with a great big cane!

***
But hark, I hear the pancake bell,
And fritters make a gallant smell.
The cooks are baking, frying, boiling,
Stewing, mincing, cutting, broiling,
Carving, gourmandizing, roasting,
Carbonading*, cracking, slashing, toasting.

(*Carbonading is an obsolete word. I gather it meant roasting on a fire or broiling, with the sense of scorching or charbroiling the food.)
***

Here are some nursery rhymes for Pancake Day…

Toss the pancakes, toss the pancakes,
Turn the pancakes over!
***
Pancake Day, Pancake Day,
Don’t let the pancakes frizzle away!

***
Watch us put them quickly in the pan now,
Toss them up and catch it if you can now.

***
Tippety, tippety tin,
Give me a pancake and I will come in.
Tippety, tippety toe,
Give me a pancake and I will go.
***
Nicky, nicky, nan,
Give me a pancake and then I’ll be gone.
But if you give me none,
I’ll throw a great stone
And down your door shall come.
***

Here are some proverbs for Shrovetide (the week of merriment before Lent) and Shrove Tuesday…

Fit as a pancake for Shrove Tuesday.
***
If it thunder upon Shrove Tuesday
It fortelleth winde, store of fruit, and plenty.
***
Rejoice Shrovetide today,
For tomorrow you’ll be ashes.

(This one is an echo of what the priest says on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, while he makes a cross on the persons forehead in ashes, “Remember man, for dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return.”)
***
So much as the sun shineth on Pancake Tuesday,
The like will shine every day in Lent.
***

Happy Pancake Day!

Lisa

UPDATE: Here’s a Pancake Song by Christina Rossetti.

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Posted in British Children's Songs, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, English Nursery Rhymes, English Proverbs, Great Britain, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, Nursery Rhymes about Holidays, Nursery Rhymes about Pancake Day, Oz Fest, Pancake Day, Pancake Day Songs, Proverbs, Proverbs about Pancake Day, Proverbs about Shrove Tuesday, Rhymes by Theme, Shrove Tuesday, Shrovetide, USA | 3 Comments »

Carnival and Mardi Gras: Feasting before Fasting

Thursday, February 16th, 2006

Carnival and Mardi Gras are big parties that are held before the fasting season of Lent begins for Christians. The celebrations are often the day before, but in some places the Carnival season can last the whole week before Lent.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is when people go to mass and priests make a cross in ashes on their foreheads, while saying a verse from the Biblical book of Genesis: Remember man, for dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return.

Christians fast for Lent for 40 days, not counting Sundays. The forty days represents the forty days Moses, Elijah and Jesus are all said to have fasted.

Originally, for the fast of Lent, people were only supposed to have one meal a day. They were supposed to refrain from eating meat, eggs, milk, butter, cheese and fish.

That’s why one tradition is for people to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent: to use up their milk and eggs. In England this day is also called Pancake Day.

The word Carnival comes from the word carne levare (which is believed to be of Latin origin), meaning to take away meat, representing the meat it’s not allowable to eat in the upcoming weeks. Although, perhaps Mardi Gras, meaning “Fat Tuesday” in French, makes more sense for this day since it’s a day of eating and partying.

However you celebrate this time, enjoy!

Lisa

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Posted in Carnival, Holidays Around the World, Lent, Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday | No Comments »

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Pancake Day – Some Songs, Rhymes and Proverbs

Carnival and Mardi Gras: Feasting before Fasting