Christ Episcopal Church continues Shrove Tuesday pancake tradition

Published 7:18 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Christ Episcopal Church will continue a more than a century-old tradition Tuesday with the 125th annual Shrove Tuesday pancake and sausage supper at the church, 1115 Main St., 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the church.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for children, and are available from church members or at the church. People can dine-in at the church or take the meals out.

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“Some people say it’s been longer than 125 years and some say less, but we know it’s been going on for a long time,” said church member Jim Miller, who has been involved in planning the event. “It may have been the members of the church back then thought it would be a good way to raise money for the church.”

Besides pancakes, he said, soups, gumbos, breads and other items will be sold during the supper.

Miller said money raised from the supper goes to the church’s community outreach, which benefits local agencies.

“After the supper, a committee will sit down and determine where the money will go,” he said.

Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday, is the time when Christians observe a final day of feasting and revelry before the fasting and sacrifice of Lent to prepare for Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The supper honors a custom that dates back to the Middle Ages, when then as now, foods like meats, fats, eggs, milk, and fish were regarded as restricted during Lent, and many families would have big feasts on Shrove Tuesday to consume the items that would inevitably become spoiled during the next 40 days of Lent.

The English tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday came as a way to use as much milk, fats, and eggs as possible before Ash Wednesday began.

The term “Fat Tuesday,” of “Mardi Gras,” involved the French custom of eating of all fats and fatty foods on Shrove Tuesday.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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