Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian countries through participating in confession, the ritual burning of the previous year's Holy Week palms, finalizing one's Lenten sacrifice, as well as eating pancakes and other sweets.

Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Western-rite Orthodox Christians, and Roman Catholics, who "make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God's help in dealing with." This moveable feast is determined by the date of Easter. The expression "Shrove Tuesday" comes from the word shrive, meaning absolution following confession. Christians traditionally visit their church on Shrove Tuesday to confess their sins and clean their soul, thus being shriven (absolved) before the start of Lent. In a number of Christian churches of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran traditions, the sacrament of confession is offered.