All over the country, some activities involving pancakes are going on.
Pancake racing and pancake tossing are the two most popular ones.
Our church, All Saints in Childshill is tonight holding a pancake tossing competition. The winner will be the one to toss the most without dropping any within a certain time. This is usually a very popular church get-together
Pancake racing is running whilst holding a pan of pancake, the contestant was to continuously toss the pancake while on the run.
The history of pancake race is an interesting and a rather charming one. Apparently it all started in 1445. A woman so caught up with making pancakes lost track of time during the Shrove Tuesday. Her preoccupation with the pancakes was interrupted by the church bell ringing. Being faithful to the church the woman raced out of the house and ran all the way to the church still holding the pan of pancake and with her apron still on.
One of the most famous pancake races is held at Olney in Buckinghamshire over a 415 yard course. The rules are strict; contestants have to toss their pancake at both the start and the finish, as well as wearing an apron and a scarf. The race is followed by a church service.
Since 1950 Olney has competed with Liberal in Kansas, which holds an identical race, to see which town can produce the fastest competitor. After the 2000 race, Liberal was leading with 26 wins to Olney’s 24.
Reference: BBC.co.uk