Pancake Day

[Biggus]

SHROVE TUESDAY

Since before the Christian era
Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day
Was celebrated far and wide
And was originally a pagan holiday

Changing seasons was a struggle
Between Jarilo the God of brightness
Vegetation, fertility and springtime
And the evil spirits of cold and darkness

So they had to help the God Jarilo
And victory meant spring had begun
So they cooked and ate pancakes
Hot and round symbolizing the sun

ASH WEDNESDAY

Ashes are placed on the heads
Of worshipers on Ash Wednesday,
Either by being sprinkled or
More often the traditional way
By being marked as a visible cross
On their foreheads on the day

ASH WEDNESDAY FIRST DAY OF LENT

The palm branches blessed on Palm Sunday,
Are the following year, burnt and blessed again
And placed on the heads of the participants
To the accompaniment of the familiar refrain
"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”
And the Lenten season has begun once again

[YesNo]

I didn't know that there was such a nice cycle between the palms and the ashes used in these ceremonies.

[Biggus]

Its amazing isnt it?

Thank you

[AuntShecky]

You're absolutely correct about the palm/ashes connection. I forgot to mention this on your Candlemas post: did you know that the day after the candles were blessed -- Feb. 3-- was the Feast of St. Blaise? He is the patron saint of throats. When I was a child, I was particularly susceptible to strep, so my mother used to haul me to church every Feb. 3.
The parishioners knelt at the altar,where the priest would bless their throats while making a cross with the newly-blest candles gently placed between the neck. I am not making this up.