Falling 47 days before Easter Sunday, Shrove Tuesday is a traditional feast day which occurs before the start of lent. It was seen as the last chance to use up fats and eggs before embarking on Lent. The four ingredients of the pancake were seen to symbolise four points of significance at this time of the year. Eggs for creation, Flour for the staff of life, Salt for wholesomeness and Milk for purity.
Anglo-Sxon Christians would visit confession on Shrove Tuesday to be "Shriven" of their sins. The word Shrove is a form of the word Shrive, a way for Christians to obtain absolution for their sins. A bell was rung to call people to confession, which became known as the pancake bell. A history that stretches centuries back, the Pancake was first found in cookery books in 1439. Traditionally flat and thin, the English pancake was served with lemon juice and sugar. American influences have changed this in modern times, with more exhuberant toppings and thicker American pancakes being served up.
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