9th February 2016
17:30 – 18:00 Pancake races in the Spui, Amsterdam with prizes sponsored by the ABC Book Center.
17:30 – 19:30 Pancake potluck at the ABC Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11, 1012 XK Amsterdam.
Please join us as we celebrate Shrove Tuesday in the time-honoured tradition of community pancake races and pancake enjoyment. The history of both these dates back centuries as part of the Christian practice for celebrating Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove Tuesday and pancakes
The expression “Shrove Tuesday” comes from the verb to shrive, meaning to confess or to free from guilt. It is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Historically, Lent was when Christians confessed sins and did not eat any meat or dairy products as a sort of purification of the body through abstinence.
The Tuesday prior to this somewhat somber period was thus a chance to have a bit of fun and to use up whatever butter, eggs, and milk one might have left in the larder in a treat that is relatively quick and easy to make. Indeed, traditional recipes for Shrove Tuesday Pancakes include far more eggs and butter than the ones we might be used to these days.
Pancake races
The Pancake Race has been part of Shrove Tuesday community celebrations for centuries. It is claimed that the oldest one has been held in Olney, Buckinghamshire since 1445. At the sound of a bell, runners must sprint 415 yards, dressed in an apron and tossing a pancake from a pan. The origin of this tradition, as the story goes, is that when the shriving bell – or the bell that called parishioners to confession on Shrove Tuesday – rang, one poor housewife was still busy cooking her pancakes. In order not to be late, she ran to the church, still flipping them in the hot pan. This race is recreated every year in many parts of Britain (and in one city in Kansas) and which we will hold this year. All ages are welcome!
Pancake potluck
As part of the celebrations, we will share in an international Pancake potluck supper. The pancake is an interesting food. There is some version of a pancake in almost every culture in the world. In addition to the great Dutch pancake there is, of course, the British pancake, the Russian blini, the French crêpe, the Jewish latke, the Ethiopian injera, the American pancake, and on and on. Please bring whatever version you would like – an old favourite or a new one you have just discovered – to the ABC Treehouse between 17:30 and 19:30. There is no official beginning – don’t worry about being late, just come when you can and enjoy the food and good company.