Christians mark Shrove Tuesday; the day before Ash Wednesday
Posted Feb 21, 2012 12:54:22 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday — the last day before Ash Wednesday, which is the time when Christians begin Lent.
Lent, which is marked by a period of fasting, lasts 46 days, starts on Ash Wednesday and ends at Easter.
Pancakes are associated with the Shrove Tuesday because during ancient times it was the easiest way to use up rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, sugar and flour, before the beginning of the fast.
Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance to God.
The ashes used are typically gathered from the palm leaves burned the previous year on Palm Sunday.
In Ottawa pancake dinners can be found at many churches, including:
- Trinity Anglican Church, 1230 Bank Street, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- St.Lukes’s Anglican Church, 760 Somerset West, at 5.
- St.Alban’s Anglican Church, King Edward, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- St. Matthews in the Glebe at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m,
In the valley, there’s one at the Carleton Reid Memorial Hall in Arnprior from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
