Brits split over correct name for Pancake Day as millions call it different name
Millions of pancakes will be consumed up and down the country as we celebrate Pancake Day today.
Pancake Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, but did you know it goes by many names, even within the UK? Most of us know that the official name for today's holiday is Shrove Tuesday, which is a Christian holiday marking the end of pre-Lent. The holiday is designed for Christians to enjoy a feast of pancakes before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, which lasts the next 47 days until Easter Sunday.
While many Brits know the holiday as Pancake Day, there are a few parts of the country that call today (February 13) by a different name - with some referring to it as Pancake Tuesday, and others calling it Skipping Day.
Liverpudlians are among those who know the day as Pancake Tuesday, and according to the Liverpool Echo, there's even a fun little rhyme children from Liverpool sing around this time of year. The publication asked people on Facebook how they refer to Pancake Day, and were inundated with over 400 comments from people confirming they call it Pancake Tuesday.
One person said: "It was always 'Pancake Tuesday' to us - never 'Pancake Day', but we did know it was officially 'Shrove Tuesday'." While another added: "Only knew it had a different name when we moved from Liverpool and came to Nottingham."
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Some commenters shared the lyrics to the song Liverpudlians are taught as kids. One wrote: "Pancake Tuesday's a very happy day, if we don't have a holiday we'll all run away ... Where will we run to, down Piggy Lane, Here comes the teacher with a big fat cane. Does anyone remember it?" Another poster said: "Pancake Tuesday is a very happy day, if you don't give us a holiday, we'll all run away. Something we said when I was a kid."
However, Scousers aren't the only ones who call Pancake Day something different, as many commenters from Scarborough admitted they know the holiday as Skipping Day. Someone posted: "Skipping Day in Scarborough."
In Scarborough, the first official record of Skipping Day was not until 1903 and apparently dates back to when servants and labourers would be given a half day off for Lent. However, another meaning of it was believed to be when local fishermen gave children some of their old fishing ropes to play with on the beach.
Some people in Scotland confirmed they don't call the holiday anything other than the very traditional Shrove Tuesday. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated with an entirely different holiday - Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras is the final day of Carnival or Shrovetide before Ash Wednesday and is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich foods in preparation for the fasting season of Lent. The holiday is celebrated in different ways in various parts of the world, with many cities in the US with French history - including New Orleans, Louisiana - holding parades and other festivities.
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