International Pancake Day Celebrations 2010

Did you know that the Tuesday before Lent is not only the beginning of Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday), but it's also been widely accepted for centuries as International Pancake Day?

"Known also as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day dates back several centuries to when the English prepped for fasting during Lent," according to the International House of Pancakes (IHOP). "Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products...hence the name Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday." (Check out the Wikipedia entry for Shrove Tuesday for more background.)

Tomorrow, February 23rd (though technically a week late), we suggest grabbing your favorite recipe for hot cakes or griddle cakes or flapjacks — whatever your favorite nomenclature for the delicious butter-and-syrup delivery vehicles otherwise known as pancakes — or head to your local IHOP for a free short stack (three buttermilk pancakes). All IHOP asks in return is that you consider making a donation to the Children's Miracle Network, a national non-profit aimed at raising funds for children's hospitals that helps to treat 17 million kids each year (or another local charity of your choosing). Check out the IHOP Pancake Day website for more info or to find participating locations near you.

In other areas of the country, communities host Pancake Day celebrations, like the 60-year-old pancake-flipping road race competition between the communities of Olney, England and Liberal, Kansas. Women in these two towns run in headscarves and aprons, flipping pancakes all the while, from the starting gun to the finish line, and celebrations in these towns have expanded to multi-day events complete with pancake-related talent shows and cooking contests. Head to PancakeDay.net for more info, or check out this video from last year's Pancake Day Race:

If you decide to make your own pancakes at home (a great way to use up leftovers, in true Pancake Day tradition), sure, there's Bisquick, but we prefer pancakes (most foods, really) made from scratch. If you do, too, feast your eyes on our favorite pancake recipe from — who else? — our resident Poor Girl Gourmet, Amy McCoy: Pumpkin Pancakes.

Because we'll happily do penance in the form of eating pancakes on Fat Tuesday or any day of the year. (Let's be honest, we've had a craving for pancakes since we started watching How I Met Your Mother. But that's a story for another time.)

Copyright 2010 Shoestring, LLC. Photo: Schoolworks.co.uk; Video: The Southwest Times