Culture Corner: Fat Tuesday Around the World
Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday, is celebrated worldwide with various traditions that often feature pancakes. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Canada, it's customary to eat pancakes on this day to use up rich ingredients like eggs, milk, and sugar before the fasting period of Lent. In the United States, particularly in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mardi Gras festivities include parades, music, and colorful beads worn by participants to celebrate the day. In England, the town of Olney hosts a unique pancake race where participants run while tossing pancakes in frying pans, a tradition dating back to 1445. In Lithuania, the festival of Užgavėnės is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday, with people enjoying pancakes called blynai, singing, dancing, and wearing costumes and masks to mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring. These diverse customs highlight the global significance of Pancake Day and Fat Tuesday as occasions for communal celebration before the solemn season of Lent.
In Culture Club this week, students learned about some of these various traditions, while eating pancakes and hearing about Mardi Gras experiences from several faculty and staff members. Did you know that Ms. Dishman was Ms. Mardi Gras in 1976? She attended Grambling State University, an HBCU, and represented the Zulu float in the parade. Coach T attended Tulane and shared that Mardi Gras was a huge part of New Orleans culture – even schools are closed on this day! She gifted all of our Culture Club students some beads in celebration of today. With pancakes, beads, and connections across cultures, we had a wonderful time learning, sharing, and celebrating the rich traditions of Mardi Gras!
Read the rest of the issue here!
Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday, is celebrated worldwide with various traditions that often feature pancakes. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Canada, it's customary to eat pancakes on this day to use up rich ingredients like eggs, milk, and sugar before the fasting period of Lent. In the United States, particularly in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mardi Gras festivities include parades, music, and colorful beads worn by participants to celebrate the day. In England, the town of Olney hosts a unique pancake race where participants run while tossing pancakes in frying pans, a tradition dating back to 1445. In Lithuania, the festival of Užgavėnės is celebrated on Shrove Tuesday, with people enjoying pancakes called blynai, singing, dancing, and wearing costumes and masks to mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring. These diverse customs highlight the global significance of Pancake Day and Fat Tuesday as occasions for communal celebration before the solemn season of Lent.
In Culture Club this week, students learned about some of these various traditions, while eating pancakes and hearing about Mardi Gras experiences from several faculty and staff members. Did you know that Ms. Dishman was Ms. Mardi Gras in 1976? She attended Grambling State University, an HBCU, and represented the Zulu float in the parade. Coach T attended Tulane and shared that Mardi Gras was a huge part of New Orleans culture – even schools are closed on this day! She gifted all of our Culture Club students some beads in celebration of today. With pancakes, beads, and connections across cultures, we had a wonderful time learning, sharing, and celebrating the rich traditions of Mardi Gras!
Read the rest of the issue here!
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