Everything You Need To Know About Shrove Tuesday
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1. The date: It takes place 47 days after Easter, in 2017 it was on Tuesday the 28th of February.
2. The history of Shrove Tuesday: Shrove Tuesday is a Christian festival that also goes back to Pagan times in Europe. It originated in the Roman age and the calendar began in the month of March. The year began with the arrival of spring it was the celebration of the arrival of better days that made the basis for the Shrove Tuesday celebrations.
In the Christian calendar however, Shrove Tuesday marks the starting point of the Easter period and it follows the first day of Lent (also called Ash Wednesday). After Shrove Tuesday a period of fasting for Lent starts, this lasts for 40 days, the same amount of time that Jesus spent in the desert. On Shrove Tuesday you can eat as much as you can because Christians celebrate their last day of abundance before a long period of limitations.
3. Traditions during Shrove Tuesday: The carnival is a symbole of Shrove Tuesday. The word comes from the Latin "carnevale", a shortened form of "carnelevare", this makes a direct reference to the shortage of meal and the start of fasting for Christians.
It has been introduced to cities such as Venice, Cologne and Rio, the carnival can last several days or even several weeks depending on the region. It is tradition to parade in the streets and even secular countries like France still continue this tradition. By nature, it is a day of breaking norms, men dress in drag, poor people in rich clothes and so on. It has become more than a simple religious festival, Shrove Tuesday is also a day to let off some steam that's celebration brings together many people.
Today, carnivals attract more than a million tourists who come to see these this exciting celebration. From a culinary point of view, Shrove Tuesday is a day on which you can eat pancakes or doughnuts which marks the beginning of the fasting period for Lent, in which meat and fatty foods are restricted.
