17 February 2026 is Shrove Tuesday, the traditional day for eating pancakes before the start of Lent. This is the story …
Meaning of Shrove
The word “shrove” comes from the Old English verb “to shrive”, which means to hear confession and pronounce absolution.
The term derives from Old English “scrīfan”, which is rooted in ecclesiastical Latin “scriber”, meaning to scribe, and refers to the act of hearing confession, assigning penance, and granting absolution.
The tradition arose to provide a day of confession before entering Lent. In medieval Europe, Christians would go to church on the Tuesday before Lent began in order to confess their sins and then be “shriven” before the Lenten fast began. Shrove Tuesday was thus a day of confession and the last day of feasting before fasting. The period before Lent became known as Shrovetide.
During Lent, people would fast by not eating meat. These days, it is more customary to deprive oneself of a luxury or habit, whether that be television, chocolate, alcohol, or social media.
Confession is not meant to be about morbid self-reflection and guilt, but about receiving mercy. John wrote that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Historically, to be “shriven” meant not just to admit sin, but also to hear the promise of forgiveness.