Lent is coming, so why eat pancakes?

Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, means pancakes for supper. Why is that?

During Medieval times, Christians practiced shriving — confessing their sins in preparation for the 40-day fast of Lent. Once absolved, they could party before the fast.

Shrove Tuesday wasn't necessarily the drunken bash that Mardi Gras has become, but it was a time to get rid of all the foods containing animal fats — eggs, milk, butter, meats — that were forbidden during the time of Lent (40 days, excluding Sundays and other holy days).

Pancakes are one of the best and simplest foods for that, since you only need to add flour, and they go well with bacon and sausage, said Ann Spruance of Calvary Episcopal Church.

“You had to be penitent for 40 days, so you feasted beforehand,” she said. “It got rid of the things that would go bad and it let you fill up on the things that would be denied.”

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902220318