WITH Valentine’s Day out of the way, revellers have already set their sights on the next big celebration – Pancake Day.
Officially known as Shrove Tuesday, it is a time of year when people around the world whip up stacks of delicious pancakes. But this year, it looks like the celebration might not be happening at its usual time due to these specific religious reasons.
Why is Pancake Day aka Shrove Tuesday so late in 2025?
Every year, Shrove Tuesday falls the day before Ash Wednesday, kicking off the season of Lent in the Christian tradition.
But this year, Pancake Day is landing much later than usual — on Tuesday, March 4.
The reason why it’s a bit later this year is because Shrove Tuesday is always 47 days before Easter Sunday, and Easter’s date changes every year.
In 2025, Easter is particularly late because it follows the lunar cycle.
Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (also called the Pink Moon).
In 2025, that full moon appears on Saturday, April 12, setting the next morning.
That makes Sunday, April 20 the first Sunday without a full moon — so that’s when Easter happens.
Count back 47 days from there, and Shrove Tuesday lands on March 4 this time around.
Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?
Shrove Tuesday has been around for centuries, with records of it being celebrated as far back as 1439.
It holds an important place in the Christian calendar, and its name comes from the word ‘shrive’, which means receiving absolution from a priest after confession.
Christians believe that the 40 days leading up to Easter, known as Lent, represent the time Jesus spent fasting in the desert before his death and resurrection.
To honour this period, people traditionally gave up certain foods like meat, fish, and dairy — that’s where pancakes come in handy.
Shrove Tuesday became the perfect opportunity to use up ingredients like eggs and butter before the fasting period began.
According to the Encyclopaedia of Traditional British Rural Sport, some parishes even rang a church bell at noon to signal it was time to start frying pancakes.
The tradition stuck, and today, Pancake Day is enjoyed by people all over the world — whether they follow Christianity or just love a good crêpe or American-style stack.
Is Pancake Day a British thing?
No, Pancake Day isn’t only celebrated in the UK.
It is also known as Fat Tuesday, especially in the United States.
But while Pancake Day is all about flipping scrumptious treats, Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, takes things to a whole new level.
In places like New Orleans and Louisiana, the day is marked by lively street parties, massive parades, and plenty of music, dancing, and colourful costumes.
Of course, there’s also no shortage of food, drinks, and all-around revelry, making it a much more raucous affair than the traditional pancake feast.
In Irish, the day is known as Máirt Inide, derived from the Latin initium Jejūniī, meaning “beginning of Lent”.
In Germany, the day is known as Fastnachtsdienstag, Faschingsdienstag, Karnevalsdienstag, or Veilchendienstag, the last of which translates to “Violet Tuesday”.
It is celebrated with fancy dress and a partial school holiday.
