Fat Tuesday

Happy Fat Tuesday! It’s the day that many of us have been waiting for, we can eat whatever we want without the guilt. This year Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, and is the last day before Lent begins to indulge in a lot of rich, fatty foods.

Who celebrates it?
This “holiday” is generally celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists and Anglicans. However, people of no particular denomination often celebrate it as it’s a day to participate in pure gluttony with those around them. This day isn’t just popular in the United States, but in many countries throughout the world as well.

What do people tend to eat?
What people eat on Fat Tuesday not only varies from country to country, but from household to household as well. Here are some of the more popular foods eaten on this day around the world:

Sweden– Semlor is the food of choice on Fat Tuesday. It consists of a bun filled with almond paste and cream. As delicious as they are, don’t stuff yourself with too many of them as folklore states that a king from Sweden put 14 helpings of this treat in some warm milk and died from eating too many of them. So you might want to just stick with eating a few helpings of these crème puffs.

Denmark– In Denmark they tend to “celebrate” Shrove Tuesday actually two days prior on Sunday. A favorite dish to consume on this day is called Fastelavnsboller. They are made out of bread and formed in the shape of a bun and usually filled with custard.

Lithuania– Lithuanians enjoy spurgos when they celebrate their version of Fat Tuesday. Spurgos are basically just donuts topped with a little bit of powdered sugar.

Estonia– It’s rather cold in Estonia during this time of year and they like to eat a hearty dish like split pea and ham soup on this day. After the soup is made they tie a string to the ham bone that was used in making the soup and spin it around in the air so that it makes a whistling sound.

The United Kingdom– In the United Kingdom, they refer to Fat Tuesday as Pancake Day since that’s what they eat a lot of during this time. Pancakes tend to be the food of choice since the sugar and eggs in the recipe contain a lot of fat which allows those who eat them to bulk up right before lent.

Louisiana– While it’s hard to pick the most popular food eaten during Fat Tuesday in Louisiana since so many people indulge in different things, we have included one of the most commonly eaten foods on this day: king cake. It’s basically just a vanilla cake that is quite colorful with layers of gold, purple and green. The most interesting thing about this cake is that it usually has a small plastic baby hidden inside of it. The person who finds it supposedly will have good luck.

How do you plan on indulging for Fat Tuesday?

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