Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, is in two days. Lent is the period of preparation for Holy Week and especially the celebration of Easter, but traditionally, there was also a time of preparation for Lent. This preparation time in the western church actually goes back to the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday (Septuagesima, 70 days before Easter), but here, we’ll just look at the day before Lent.

Shrove Tuesday

In the English-speaking world, the day before Ash Wednesday is formally known as Shrove Tuesday. On this day, people confessed their sins to a priest and were absolved (“shriven”) to prepare for Lent and their annual reception of the Eucharist at Easter. (Yes, in medieval Europe, the laity only received communion once a year at Easter.)

Pancake Day, Mardi Gras, and Carnival

That was the theological significance of the day. Colloquially, however, Shrove Tuesday was more often known as Pancake Day. The reason is that the Lenten season was a period of fasting and abstinence. As a result, people would use up their rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar in pancakes as a final indulgence before Lent.

It turns out that this is the common theme across Europe for the day or the season immediately preceding Lent. For example, in Poland, Sweden, Finland, and Germany, various forms of filled doughnuts are traditionally made and consumed just prior to the Lenten fast in much the same way as the British eat pancakes.

In France, the day is named Mardi Gras, literally Fat Tuesday, as the last day in which rich foods could be eaten.

In Italy and much of the Latin world, the season is known as Carnival, which comes from the Latin carne vale, meaning “farewell to meat,” pointing to period of fasting and abstinence to follow.

Carnival is its own season in many parts of the world, often beginning at Epiphany and ramping up as Lent approaches. (In Germany, Carnival starts earlier than anywhere else: it begins on Martinmas, November 11, but it really gets going on the Thursday before Lent.) Carnival is anything but a religious festival. It features costumes and masks, satire, social inversions, music and dance, processions, and the like. Its practices are designed to blow off steam in ways more recognizable to anthropologists than to theologians.

The Orthodox World

In contrast, the Orthodox world has a different approach to Lent. The Orthodox have multiple Sundays prior to Lent which are designated feast days. On the Sunday a week prior to Lent, they have “meatfare Sunday,” their last meat prior to Easter. This is the closest equivalent to a “farewell to meat,” and many regions have a Carnival-like atmosphere leading up to the next Sunday, “cheesefare Sunday,” the last day to eat dairy, eggs, and fish. In some areas in eastern Europe, blini (Slavic pancakes) are a common food during this week, paralleling Pancake Day in the British Isles.

“Cheesefare Sunday” is also known as Forgiveness Sunday. At Vespers (i.e. the service of evening prayers), Lenten prayers begin, and at the end of the service, parishioners approach the priest and each other to ask for mutual forgiveness. The next day, Clean Monday, is generally considered the first day of Great Lent, though it arguably begins with Vespers on Forgiveness Sunday.

Practicing Lent

This year, because Easter is the same date in both the western and eastern church calendars, today is Clean Monday and both traditions will be celebrating Lent together. This is an important and valuable time in the church year for reflection and practicing spiritual disciplines. For an overview of Lent and its value and some suggestions on practices to leverage the season for spiritual growth, check out my video here.