Beryl's Blog: The Origin of Some Lenten Practices
Do we know why we continue to practice certain Lenten traditions?
For Christians, Shrove Tuesday marks the last day before Lent, traditionally a period of abstinence, associated with clearing your cupboards of goods such as sugar, fats and eggs. Traditionally, pancakes were eaten on this day to use up these foods before the 40-day fasting season of Lent began. Some people believed that the ingredients necessary for pancakes represented the four pillars of the Christian faith – flour as the “staff of life”, eggs as “creation”, milk as “purity” and salt as “wholesomeness”.
This year, Shrove Tuesday fell on February 25th and we celebrated with pancakes and the dispensation of ashes.
The word 'shrove' derives from the English word 'shrive', which means “to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and penance”. The day gets its unique name from the custom for Christians to be 'shriven' before the start of Lent. They would be called to confession by the ring of a bell which came to be known as the 'pancake bell' and it is still rung in some churches today.
The pancake has a very long history and is featured in cookery books as far back as 1439. The tradition of tossing or flipping them is almost as old. According to legend, the tradition was born in the 15th century when a woman in Buckinghamshire rushed to church to confess her sins while mid-way through making pancakes.
Shrove Tuesday is the last day of what traditionally was called “Shrovetide,” the week preceding the beginning of Lent. The word itself, Shrovetide, is the English equivalent for “Carnival,” which is derived from the Latin words carnem levare, meaning “to take away the flesh.” (Note that in Germany, this period is called “Fasching,” and in parts of the United States, particularly Louisiana, “Mardi gras” or Fat Tuesday) While this was seen as the last chance for merriment, and unfortunately in some places resulted in excessive pleasure, Shrovetide was the time to cast off things of the flesh and to prepare spiritually for Lent.
While this week of Shrovetide condoned the partaking of pleasures from which a person would abstain during Lent, Shrove Tuesday had a special significance in England. Pancakes were prepared and enjoyed, because in so doing a family depleted their eggs, milk, butter, and fat which were part of the Lenten fast. At this time, some areas of the Church abstained from all forms of meat and animal products, while others made exceptions for food like fish. For example, Pope St. Gregory (d. 604), writing to St. Augustine of Canterbury, issued the following rule: “We abstain from flesh, meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs.” These were the fasting rules governing the Church in England; hence, the eating of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
Keep in mind, for this same reason, Easter was celebrated with decorated eggs and fresh breads. Another interesting note surrounding the Easter egg, just as an aside, is that it symbolized the resurrection: just as a little chick pecks its way out from the egg shell to emerge to new life, so Christ emerged from the tomb to new and everlasting life.
As we begin our preparations for Lent, I hope we might find the time for a little meditation and prayer during our journey and I offer the following words to start us off.
Love has its source in you Creator God
Flows from you like an ocean into a world as unyielding as any shoreline cliff
And like the ocean which batters, erodes and wears away even the hardest stone
Your love persists, finds cracks and inlets in hardened hearts, flows inside and works a miracle.
Who would think that water was more powerful than granite, love mightier than the hardest heart
Thank you, Creator God
[Found on www.faithandworship.com/liturgy_Lent_1.htm]
In peace,
Beryl