Shrovetide Is More Than Just Pancakes

When we are growing up, we are all very aware of Shrove Tuesday, popularly known as “Pancake Day”, but it is but one day amongst three that make up the Shrovetide Period. As is often the case, the roots lie in the religious calendar and Shrovetide is normally the week before lent.

Collop Monday often involves bacon

In the modern world, we hear people say that they are “giving something up for lent”, normally being something that represents a personal sacrifice.

As we grow older, we become aware that Ash Wednesday follows Shrove Tuesday, but you may have to be more of a historian to know that the Monday before Shrove Tuesday is also known as Collop Monday.

It has other names such as Rose Monday, Merry Monday and Hall Monday. The name “collop” which is the most popular comes from the term used for cuts of bacon which were often eaten before Lent started, with the fat from the bacon being used to fry the pancakes the next day.