Countdown to Pancake Day

The Pancake countdown has begun; 17 days until Pancake Month and 29 days until Pancake Day. Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day or Fastnacht Day; the day is the same, the name changes depending upon where one lives. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the day Lent begins. Shrove is the past tense for shrive, when one asks absolution for ones sins with confession and penance. Housewives used the last of the butter and sugar on this day to prepare for fasting that took place over the Lenten season. This day is celebrated around the world with the English and Irish communities eating pancakes. In the German Pennsylvania Dutch Community this calls for Fastnachts a type of donunt. The polish celebrate with paczki,and in Sweden it is semla, a sweet bun filled with whipped cream. In the United States today many churches and communities hold pancake suppers; for fellowship or as a fund raiser. Here in Pigeon Forge, Flapjacks Pancake House is holding a fundraiser to benefit the Sevier County Fire Company Association's new training facility.A $5.00 donation will get you bacon or sausage,a beverage and all you can eat pancakes. I'll have more on this fundraiser as the date approaches.