Pancakes and Ashes may not sound like the best combination for a menu, but over two specific days they do mark the beginning of an important season in the church.

The Season of Lent, this year, began on Ash Wednesday, March 1. Lent is the season that leads up to Holy Week, which marks the events in Christ’s last days before his crucifixion, and Easter’s celebration of his resurrection. It is during this season that Christian’s are invited to enter at time of self-examination, prayer, and penitence. It can be a very solemn time, often including a special diet, and so to prepare for this period of spiritual reflection, it became traditional to remove from the pantry all the sweets, lard, and and other types of food that would otherwise spoil when uneaten during Lent. Hence the evolution of Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and Pancake Tuesday.

At St. George’s we marked both the sweet goodness of the Pancake on Tuesday and the important reminder and symbol of the Ashes on Wednesday.

May your Lent journey be a Holy one.

image from Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library