Tuesday’s Morning Thought
Good Morning,
It’s Shrove Tuesday and you may be one of many who are trying to remember what makes a pancake and if you have enough ingredients. I remember at college foolishly saying that I knew how to make them and ended up making dozens for hungry students – I stopped when I ran out of the ingredients. I have since learnt how to be circumspect at who I tell about my skills!
Shrove comes from the English verb ‘shrive’ meaning to hear the confession of and give absolution to. The beginning of Lent saw the Christian confessing their sins and seeking absolution which often took the form of a penance of some kind. I have no idea if this is true but I imagine the idea of giving something up during Lent was a way of giving everyone a penance on the understanding that everyone had sinned but they may not confess to it – a sort of a scatter gun approach to it all.
Whatever the reason people did give up the rich food during Lent but ever practical they had to find ways of using up what they had so it didn’t go bad during Lent. So Carnivals were used as an excuse to enjoy rich and fatty food (the term Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday), to overturn conventions for one day before entering the more sober time of Lent. Many people went to Carnivals wearing masks so that they could get away with behaving rather differently to the norm in the hope that no-one recognised them.
So we have a time of celebration and a time of thoughtfulness. How often the two go together. For example talking to those who are about to marry I often see the joy of what is to come (including the bride and groom’s separate celebrations before the marriage) and the thoughtfulness about what is to come as it is a big step for many. Preparation for Lent is very similar with the end results of both being the symbol of love for one another.
I hope you enjoy your pancakes and find time to have a moment to think today.
