“Shrove Tuesday” is the day before the opening of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The word shrove comes from the verb “to shrive,” which means, “to impose penance on (a sinner); to grant absolution to (a penitent); to hear the confession of (a person)” (source). The day is called “Shrove Tuesday” in honor of the custom for Catholics of going to confession in preparation for Lent. The day is also sometimes called “Fat Tuesday” or “Pancake Tuesday” in honor of the ancient custom for Catholics of using up their dairy products in a time when the laws of abstinence from meat during Lent were far more strict for Latin-rite Catholics.
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