Today is Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday — call it what you want — if you’re an Anglican, Catholic or Protestant Christian you’re probably having pancakes for dinner tonight.
Today is the last day before Lent, so tradition is to indulge in food that one would sacrifice for the upcoming 40 days. People began eating pancakes to rid the pantry of items they wouldn’t eat during Lent.
Pancakes are tasty, but here are some ways to make them even more exciting:
Follow Spokane Faith and Values’s board Fat Tuesday on Pinterest.
I’m always amazed at the traditions that “Christians” have that aren’t based in any way on the bible.
Mark, while pancakes per se are not specified biblically for any feast connected to the story of Jesus, the disciplines of Lent, which the playful feast on Mardi Gras readies us for, come from Matthew 6: prayer, giving alms, and fasting.
In that same text, we hear Jesus warn about practicing piety before others only for show. There is always danger within religious tradition for a practice to become only about itself. There is the danger of asceticism too.
Christians invented Lent in order to prepare themselves and the community for renewal in the waters of baptism. Baptism, community and renewal are all biblical, I think. So while we can’t cite the eating of pancakes in scripture, I believe there’s good reason to eat a plate full.
The Bible also doesn’t authorize using guitars and PA systems in worship, printing scripture using moveable type, or (ahem) discussing Christianity on the internet. Heck, the Bible doesn’t even specify which books belong in the Bible. I believe that our tradition has enough life in it that it is allowed to change and to grow. Indeed, I believe that God is pleased to see it changing and growing. And, speaking as a Christian (excuse me, I mean speaking as a “Christian”) who will be eating pancakes this eve, I believe that we are sometimes allowed to get together and do stuff that is plain old fun.