Shrove Tuesday Pancakes

It's cold.
It's winter and the days are not long.
The chickens are on strike.

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Some people fast for Lent. Some people abstain from meats. Some abstain from sweets or TV. But I don't know anybody who abstains from milk, butter, eggs, etc, during Lent.

The tradition of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday was supposedly a way to use up the milk and eggs. People were supposed to get them out of the house prior to Lent. That's something I'd heard before. But I never really understood it -- those aren't things that are typically given up for Lent.

All winter, the eggs from my neighbor have been in relatively short supply. It's winter. That's what I should expect from normal chickens living a real-chicken's life. But, hey, last week, there weren't ANY eggs. So I tried a different neighbor. She didn't have any eggs either! As one of the kids explained to me, the chickens are on strike.

Started me to wondering. Is there some reason the folks in England gave up milk and eggs for Lent? One website said it was because people give up "rich foods" for their Lenten fast. But most of us today think of milk and eggs as plain foods. (Maybe that goes to show how spoiled we are??) My friend John told me that we abstain from meat and wine during Lent because of those two things being reminders of Jesus' flesh and blood, and the salvation He accomplished for us. So what's with the pancakes and donuts prior to Ash Wednesday so that we can use up the eggs?

When we were visiting St Sava's last week, one of the moms asked about the round things flanking the processional cross. The deacon explained that they were like "fans" and told us how they were used in the Service and their theological significance. He also admitted the exact same thing John had told me, about how the elements were originally "fanned" [sorry, I don't know the correct words; maybe Marie can help me out again] to chase off flies, and how that action was then eventually invested with a theological meaning. The practice began very practically, and then took on deeper meaning.

So now I'm wondering if that's what's up with the pancakes. Hens don't lay as much during the winter. In spring, some of them are getting broody and wanting to keep their eggs to themselves. Likewise, in spring the cow may need to go dry in preparation for the birth of her calf. Could it be that the farmers were simply short of eggs and milk at this time of year, and so they worked that reality into their religious practices? I'm just guessing, but it makes sense to me.

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I had to buy eggs at the grocery store this week. Luckily, they were trying to move some near-expiration-date Omega-3 eggs from the chickens that hadn't had antibiotics and weren't cannabalistic. So I grabbed a few dozen.

It's warmer the last few days. We've had more sunny days this month than we had last winter. And we're up to 11 hours of sunlight daily. Maybe the local chickens will start laying again soon.