Shrove Tuesday is the day before the start of Lent, marking the final day of preparation before the forty-day journey toward Easter begins on Ash Wednesday. The word “shrove” comes from the old English word shrive, meaning to confess and receive absolution. Traditionally, Christians would use this day to examine their lives, confess their sins, and be spiritually “shriven” in readiness for Lent.
It also became a practical day of clearing out rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, that were historically given up during Lent. This is why Shrove Tuesday is often associated with pancakes: a simple way of using up those ingredients before the more reflective and restrained season begins.
Today, Shrove Tuesday is an opportunity to pause, take stock, and prayerfully consider how we will enter into Lent, what we might lay aside, what we might take up, and how we will intentionally draw closer to God on the journey to the cross.
