Shrove Tuesday Facts

The day immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent in the Christian churches of the West, is known in English as Shrove Tuesday. It occurs between 2 February and 9 March, depending on the date of Easter. The day takes its name from "shriving"; the pre-Lenten confession and absolution of the faithful as a preparation for Lent that was common in the European Middle Ages.

Shrovetide was also a period of dietary license, and foods forbidden in Lent were consumed in abundance. Eggs and milk were at one time forbidden in Lent and therefore any supplies had to be used up before Ash Wednesday.

The French call it Mardi Gras from the Italian Martedì Grasso meaning Fat Tuesday.

In Britain this three-day period of ludic license was called Shrovetide. Various sports were common, especially games of football. One form of cruel sport prevalent at Shrovetide was pelting cocks and wagering, and this was still practiced in areas of English settlement in Ireland in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Posted By: Tombs, Feb 27, 13:07:13