Pancake Day

Yes, I did get up early to make pancake batter, but I made crepes. For some reason I can't manage the fluffy, American style pancakes, but a crepe is as simple as can be. Extra crepes can be frozen, which makes them all the more attractive to me.

I taught Lent today, and we came across a Shrove Tuesday tradition from Slovakia where a sweet roll is suspended on a string from the ceiling and children bob for it like an apple. Next year. I am doing that next year. I've been finding all this helpful information in a book called, It's Time For Easter by Elizabeth Hough Sechrist and Janette Woolsey, 1961. While they cover most of the basics, there's a good sprinkling of linguistics, cultural traditions, and stuff that would appeal to those outside of the faith. I like that they don't assume the reader is familiar with the holy observances, and make an attempt to explain it without endorsing it. I wouldn't go as far as calling it, "Easter explained for atheists" but it is helpful in a comparative religions sort of way.

The tradition I was less fond of was the once from Finland, (I think) where the children wake their parents early on Shrove Tuesday by beating them with sticks to get out of bed and make pancakes (OK, in Finland it is probably blini, but they are technically pancakes, correct?). I don't think we'll be giving that particular tradition a go next year.