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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Happy Shriving!

Noel wrote this blog many years ago (remember when we all had Xanga's?) to first introduce a lot of her Resurrection friends to an old tradition of Pancake Suppering for Shrove Tuesday.  This year, we are not responsible for creating our own familial occasion but rather will be fellowshiping with the others at our church over pancakes.  Woohoo!  Most of you now probably know about this tradition now, but I thought it'd be funny to review something written ages ago....

"ok, so I am going to introduce you all to the Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) pancake supper tradition of the Catholic and Anglican (and probably other) churches as well, I'm sure but hey, that's what I know. I was shocked and dismayed to find out that hardly
any of you had heard of, let alone participated in one such tradition...all you non and new anglicans out there!

As we all know, today is the day before Ash Wednesday and the inauguration of Lent. We all usually give up something for Lent...often foods or the like...as have countless number of saints before us. And back in the day, Christians would give up eating things fatty, eggs and dairy stuff, but in order to not be wasteful (yay for stewardship) they would eat all of the things that would go bad in the forty days of Lent on tuesday night. And it just so happens that pancakes are comprised of these aformentioned ingredients the Christians were giving up for Lent. Thus,
the pancake supper tradition and while some have taken this to absurd extremes-races,
olympics, even changing it to an enchilada dinner in a church in New Mexico, etc...
Consequently, Mardi Gras comes from this eating all the fat business, getting it's
name "Fat Tuesday".

Etymology lesson of the day: "shrove" comes
from the old christian practice of "shriving" which literally means "taking
off". And it was marked as a day of confession before entering Lent as well
as of feasting before entering this penitent season.  

For you Church History buffs out there, here's a link to some interesting legends on traditions of pancake suppering:
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/season/fusco.html

And here's a prayer from our Eastern Orthodox siblings for this day of shriving.  We'll be praying this for you all and ask that you pray for us as well that the Lord will show us the cruciform way through which He transforms us into His likeness this Lent:

My dear Saviour who is Love, fill me with Your love that embraces and holds not back,
that accepts and not condemns, that forgives and not retaliates, that stretches out and not stagnates.
Make this Lent a positive time, a growing time but also a reflective time to see myself as You see me.
It is only when my soul is stripped and naked that I can begin once again. Help me to shed all my wrappings this Lent so that I may stand before You as You know me. Amen and Amen.

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