A verger from Westminster Abbey leads a procession of boys into the playground where the school cook tosses a huge pancake over a five-metre high bar.
The boys then race to grab a portion of the pancake and the one who ends up with the largest piece receives a financial reward from the Dean, originally a guinea or sovereign. In Scarborough, Yorkshire , on Shrove Tuesday, everyone assembles on the promenade to skip.
Long ropes are stretched across the road and there might be ten or more people skipping on one rope. The origin of this custom is not known but skipping was once a magical game, associated with the sowing and spouting of seeds which may have been played on barrows burial mounds during the Middle Ages. The practice mostly died out with the passing of the Highways Act which banned the playing of football on public highways, but a number of towns have managed to maintain the tradition to the present day including Alnwick in Northumberland , Ashbourne in Derbyshire called the Royal Shrovetide Football Match , Atherstone in Warwickshire , Sedgefield called the Ball Game in County Durham , and St Columb Major called Hurling the Silver Ball in Cornwall.
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Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving that Christians used to undergo in the past. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution for them. When a person receives absolution for their sins, they are forgiven for them and released from the guilt and pain that they have caused them.
In the Catholic or Orthodox context, the absolution is pronounced by a priest. But what is the meaning behind this special day? How and why is it celebrated around the world? It falls on the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent — a period of around six weeks leading up to Easter.
During Lent, Christians give up luxuries to remember when Jesus went into the desert for 40 days to fast and pray. Traditionally during Lent, Christians would give up rich, tasty foods such as butter, eggs, sugar and fat some Christians continue to do so, in fact. Shrove Tuesday was the last chance to eat them — and what better way to do so than with a delicious pancake! In this mad-cap activity, people race each other whilst tossing a pancake in a pan.
Today, pancake races are often organised to raise money for charity and help those in need. The story goes that it originated way back in , in the town of Olney in Buckinghamshire , England. A woman was so busy making pancakes that she lost track of time.
When she heard the church bells ringing for the Shrove Tuesday mass, she ran as fast as she could to make it, and arrived still carrying her pancake in the pan!
Egg -citing stuff! And for many people, Mardi Gras means party time…. Fancy joining in the fab pancake fun? Then get whisking and flipping with this six-step pancake recipe.
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