‘Shrove Tuesday’ popularly known as ‘Pancake Day’ is observed in many English-speaking countries and like many other European holidays is a pagan holiday with the customary making and eating of Sun shaped pancakes, a pagan tradition. Shrove comes from the word shrive meaning ‘confess’. Pancake day is the last day of the period of ‘Shrovetide’ and is always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of lent.

Lent is a period of 40 days of prayer, fasting and abstinence culminating in the holy week with the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday followed by Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ. Ideally during the period of Lent, Christians are meant to follow a simple and pious life, which also means that they abstain from partying and rich foods including eggs and meats. Hence the period of Shrovetide is the period of celebrations, indulgence and feasting before the period of fasting.

In Switzerland and other Germanic countries, it is known as ‘Fasnacht’ meaning ‘eve of the fast’. Very characteristic of Fasnacht is the Carnival, the biggest of its kind in Switzerland, and famous for its public celebrations with themed floats, street parties and parades. Fasnacht takes place in the Catholic cantons and the carnival in Lucerne and Basel are the most popular. A number of events take place around Fasnacht. Tuesday afternoon is dedicated to the Gugge music or masked musicians and the cacophony of the drummers and piccolo players fill the streets in the town centres to vivid displays of vibrant colours and some weird and wonderful costumes.

Also known as ‘Mardi Gras’ in Italy, Brazil and Spain, the term Mardi Gras is French for ‘Fat Tuesday’, reflecting the practise of the last night of eating rich and fatty foods prior to entering the ritual fasting in the Lenten season. In many areas, the term Mardi Gras has come to mean the whole period of celebratory events. Some of the best-known traditions, including carnal parades and masquerade balls, were first recorded in medieval Italy. The carnival in Brazil is of course world famous.

With Ash Wednesday begins the period of Lent, and with the words, “For dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return “ the priest ritualistically blesses each forehead with ashes as he reminds us of our mortality explaining that we are made out of earth and to the earth, we shall return.