What's Shrove Day? Here's everything to know about why we eat pancakes today

Hurry up, folks, get your batter ready if you haven’t already. Pancake Day is being celebrated today, Tuesday, February 17, 2026.

This year’s celebrations came earlier as compared to the previous one.

Shrove Day or Pancake Day, has a significant value in Christianity, as it marks the period of self-gratification before the arrival of Easter.

Thus, Pancake Day offers both spiritual introspection and culinary enjoyment.

Let’s dive deep to know what Pancake Day is and explore the reasons—the “Whys”—linked with it.

What’s Shrove Day and when does it happen?

Shrove Tuesday, also commonly understood as Pancake Day, is observed as a celebration just a day before Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday, in its most simple definition is defined as the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar.

Lent, is a 40-day period of fasting that precedes Easter, which means the celebration changes every year.

Therefore, Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge in richer foods before the fasting period of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

The Pancake Day term is rooted in history, throughout the centuries, the day has evolved into a ritual to eat pancakes to observe the start of Lent.

So, on Shrove Day, people can use ingredients that otherwise they are forbidden to eat during the 40-day time duration, and that is the reason why Pancake Day got its name.

As Pancake Day always falls on the 47th day before Easter Sunday, its actual date on the Gregorian calendar can vary.

The term “Shrove Tuesday” is derived from the act of Anglo-Saxon Christians performing penance before Lent and therefore being “shriven” of them, according to Historic UK.

In countries like Germany, France, and the United States, the day preceding Lent is marked by festivity, also called Mardi Gras.

It means “Fat Tuesday” in French, the celebrations include Carnival events such as extravagant parades.

In short, the custom of eating delicious pancakes to mark the beginning of Lent has continued in Britain since the 16th century.