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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pancake Day

Banana on Pancake
Banana on Pancake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Ben Panny


In English speaking countries, Tuesday is the term made use of to refer to the day just after Collop Monday and before Ash Wednesday. The liturgical season of Lent starts at Ash Wednesday. In a few nations this day is also identified as a National Pancake Day simply because a whole lot of individuals eat pancakes on this day.



You might wonder why pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent. It is like this because, it is actually a time of liturgical fasting, throughout which only the plainest food could be eaten. That is why rich ingredients for example milk, sugar, eggs, or flour are disposed of instantly before the commencement of the fast. As you possibly already know, pancakes were the ideal way of making use of these ingredients and moreover they provided a small celebratory feast before the fast itself.

National Pancake Day is celebrated in English countries. One time in 1634 on a Pancake Day, when pancake race happened in the village in the United Kingdom, William Fennor wrote this in Palinodia: 'And toss their pancakes up for fear they burn". You already believe that Pancake Day features a lengthy history, but the truth is the tradition is even older. Pancake racing had began long before 1634. The popular Pancake Race at Olney Buckinghamshire has been held since 1445.

During the Pancake Day, races are held. The contestants of the races are generally woman. They're carrying a pan in the hand and they run to the finishing line. Through the race, they're throwing the pancakes. As the pancakes are pretty thin, some skills are required to toss them while running. The winner is the lady who crosses the line first and throws the pancake a specific quantity of times. It is firmly believed that this custom started when a housewife from Olney who was busy preparing the pancakes and forgot entirely what was the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. When she realized it was late, she raced out of the house to church. In her hands she was still holding her frying pan with pancakes.

In America the tradition of Pancake Races has become preferred since 1950. The occasion was brought to Liberal, and in 1950 the international challenge was accepted by Reverend Ronald Collins, Vicar of Olney. Since this year folks from Liberal, Kansas, USA and Olney have been taking part in the "International Pancake Day". Pancake race is organised between two towns on Shrove Tuesday, which is also identified as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. It is the final day before the Lenten season, when Christians are urged to give up luxuries. Competitors race along an agreed upon course. To determine a winner, times of all of the two towns' competitors are compared. Kansas tops England at Annual Pancake Day Race.

A tradition since 1950, the International running of the Pancake Race has come to be a symbolic occasion of peace and unity between the England and United states. It's customary for Olney and Liberal to send dignitaries to each country, so that an official representative is present at the race. At the end of the race, the dignitary congratulates the race winner with the Kiss of Peace.




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