Sunday, February 28, 2021

A Pancake by Any Other Name—with Giveaway By Donna Schlachter






As a child growing up in eastern Canada, the Tuesday before Lent was called “Pancake Day”. Traditionally, we ate pancakes for supper. The batter was prepared as usual, and when my mother spooned the mixture into the frying pan, she tucked an aluminum foil-wrapped coin into each pancake.

You can imagine our excitement as the children endeavored to eat as many pancakes as possible, because then we increased our chances of finding the cakes with a dime or maybe even a quarter inside. Most had a penny or nickel, but that didn’t deter us.

Each year, we’d ask why we ate pancakes for supper just one day a week, and my mother always told us because it was a tradition. She didn’t know the reason. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered the reason.
Dreamstime.com

 
Pancake Day hails from the observance of Lent and marks the beginning of the season. Held on the Tuesday before Lent, it’s also known as Shrove Tuesday. It was a day of confession and self-examination, which has become Mardi Gras in the United States. Because Lent was commonly a time of fasting from favorite foods, Pancake Day was begun as a way to rid the home of eggs, sugar, and fat (usually butter).
Dreamstime.com

Pancakes hold a longstanding place in history, first mentioned by Ancient Greeks around 600 BC. Around 1100 AD, Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday became a traditional way to adhere to the church’s admonition to self-deny. National Pancake Day originated in the USA in 1985, although depending on one’s country of origin, has been celebrated here much longer than that.

Regardless of which traditions you adhere to regarding Lent, Pancake Day is still a fun way to change up your menu and encourage your kids to eat.

Now, if we could just find a way to hide money inside vegetables.


Giveaway: Leave a comment, and I’ll draw randomly for a free print (US only) copy of “The Pony Express Romance Collection”. Share one of your family traditions, and leave your email address disguised from the bots as name AT email DOT extension (for example: Donna AT HiStoryThruTheAges DOT com)



 
 
 
 
 
Resources:

https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Pancake-Day/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shrove-Tuesday

https://holidays-today.com/holidays/national-pancake-day.html





About “The Pony Express Romance Collection”:

Join the race from Missouri, across the plains and mountains to California and back again as brave Pony Express riders and their supporters along the route work to get mail across country in just ten days. It is an outstanding task in the years 1860 to 1861, and only a few are up to the job. Faced with challenges of terrain, weather, hostile natives, sickness, and more, can these adventurous pioneers hold fast, and can they also find lasting love in the midst of daily trials?




About Donna:

Donna writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been published more than 30 times in novellas, full-length novels, and non-fiction books. She is a member of ACFW, Writers on the Rock, SinC, Pikes Peak Writers, and CAN; facilitates a critique group; teaches writing classes; ghostwrites; edits; and judges in writing contests. www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com






















13 comments:

  1. What a fun post! I didn't know about Pancake Day. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. I'd never heard of Pancake Day either! Our family didn't carry on a lot of traditions but in my early childhood I had one aunt who would hold an Easter Open House. It was the one time most all of the relatives went to our grandmother's church, then around the corner to my aunt's for a buffet lunch. Thanks for posting about Pancake Day!
    bcrugATtwcDOTcom

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    1. Thanks, Connie. We had a Boxing Day (December 26th) Family Open House. Sometimes we only saw folks that one time a year, because many would drive several hours to get to our place.

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  3. I have heard of Pancake Day, but only because you would see ads in the newspaper for ‘All you can eat pancakes’ and then where that was offered. I really never knew why it was so important... Thanks for the opportunity to learn something new! Thanks also for the giveaway :)
    bettimace AT gmail DOT com

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  4. Hi Donna. I don't qualify for your giveaway because I live in Canada, but just wanted to say thanks for the fun post and the mention of growing up in Canada! (What is "CAN" in your bio?)

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    1. Hi Terrie, thanks for leaving a comment. I'd like to pop you in the drawing anyway, and if you win, I'll send another ebook. CAN is Christian Authors Network, a great group of believers who write.

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  5. I have never heard of Pancake Day. Thank you for sharing your interesting post.
    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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  6. You dont need to enter me.
    I have read the book and it is fantastic. All the stories. This is an interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Hi Lori, thanks for the great review :)And you are welcome.

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  8. I had never heard of Pancake Day. Would love to read your book.
    moma3homeschool(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete