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Level 2 – Pre-intermediate
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent for Christians. Lent lasts forty days and is a time when Christians are not supposed to have an extravagant lifestyle. They are only supposed to eat very simple food.
On Shrove Tuesday, it is traditional to have a feast and celebrate and in many parts of the world there are carnivals. To avoid wasting food, Christian families used up all the food which is forbidden during Lent on Shrove Tuesday. In the past, this included milk, eggs and fats so it became customary to eat pancakes.
In Britain, it is also traditional to hold pancake races on Shrove Tuesday. This custom dates back to 1445. In those days, people went to church to confession on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. According to the legend, a woman was late and when she heard the bells she ran to church with her frying pan in her hand and wearing her apron.
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C2 Mastery
