Pancake Tuesday really crêped up on us at Northern Diver this year.
But our owner still managed to prepare and put on a flipping delicious pancake feast for the team.
"We're lucky that we primarily work from one site which enables us to celebrate days in the calendar and treat our staff."
We marked the occasion by laying out chopped fruit, cream, syrups and sauces as well as some good old fashioned sugar and lemon. People could choose their toppings on their break and watch a pancake toss or two as our owner himself made a wonderful stack of panckaes fresh for everyone who wanted one (or two).
Even though we're a busy business and our team work incredibly hard, we take time to celebrate their sucess through days like today. It'll continue to be a busy year, but we're ready to rise to the challenges it'll bring!
We hope our pancake puns haven't fallen too flat!
How did Pancake day start?
Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, was traditionally a feast day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. It was a good way for Christians to use up flour, eggs and milk before beginning their fasting for Lent. This is why some people still choose to give up something during the 46 days of Lent. Lent was originally a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for Easter, originally the 46 days were 40 days of fasting and the 6 Sundays which were considered non-fasting days.
Pancake Day is always 47 days before Easter Sunday so both days move each year. Last year we celebrated Pancake Day on the 13th Feb and next year in 2020 it'll be 25th February. Although it's been as early as the 3rd Febuary before and as late as the 9th March.
Shrove Tuesday isn't just celebrated in the UK and Ireland.
In other countries Shrove Tuesday is known as ‘Mardi Gras’. In French, Mardi Gras translates to ‘Fat Tuesday’. Their celebration comes from the idea of using up food before Lent. Around the world countries have celebrations and carnivals for Mardi Gras. Most noteably New Orleans in the USA, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Venice in Italy and Sydney in Australia.