Shrove Tuesday, pancake day.

Shrove Tuesdayis day before Ash Wednesday,the first day of Lent,which signalled the beginning of forty days of year,much of Easter.Nowadays,at this time year ,much of Europe explodes in carnivals but Englands has its own very specific celebration:Pancake Day.On Shrove Tuesday,English people traditionally enjoy making,tossing and eating pancakes.

The date of Shrove Tuesday varies but is celebrated on 12th February this year.(The word `Shrove `came from the old Roman Catholic custom of asking for confession and forgivens before Lent).Housewives had to take their last opportunity for almost six weeks to use up prohibited `luxury`foods such as eggs,lard and butter.These were made into pancakes-nence the name Pancake Day.

But even nowadays in some parts of England.Pancake Day is more than just a tasty family treat.The small village of Olney on Buckinghamshire, for instance,celebrates Shrove Tuesday with with an annual Pancake Race.In 1445 so the story goes,a local woman heard the church bell while she was making pancakes and absent-mindedly ran to the church still holding her frying-pan.The race has been held every year since then.Only women over the age of 16 who have lived in the village more than tree.

After the pancake bell rings at 11.55 a.m. the race begins from the market square.All participants must wear an apron and a scarf and carry a trying pan.Each woman enters the race with a pancake that is still cooking and as she runs tosses it at least three times.The first person to serve her pancake to the bellringer at the church door gets a kiss from him.The winner and the runner-up also receive a prayer-book from the vicar.
Since 1949 Olney has had a friendly rivalry with Liberal a small American village in Kansas where they run a simultaneous race over a similar course.When their race is finished Liberal telepfones Olney to exchange results and then returns to pancakes-eaten with lemon and sugar,jam or maple syrup.