Pancake
Day or Shrove Tuesday is the day
preceding Ash Wednesday,
the first day of Lent.
Shrove Tuesday is determined by Easter;
its date changes annually. Pancakes
are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to
use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting
season of the 40 days of Lent. Shrove Tuesday was once known as a
"half-holiday" in England. It started at 11:00am with the
ringing of a church bell. On Pancake Day, "pancake
races" are held in villages and
towns across the United Kingdom. Participants with frying pans race
through the streets tossing pancakes into the air and catching them
in the pan whilst running.