Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day before Lent begins. Its English name comes from “to shrive,” to hear confession: medieval Christians went to confession in the days before Lent so as to begin the season with a clean heart. It is also known as Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”), Pancake Day and Carnival, because households used up their eggs, butter and meat before the Lenten fast. In 2027 Shrove Tuesday falls on February 9, and Ash Wednesday on February 10.
Shrove Tuesday dates
| Year | Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) | Ash Wednesday | Easter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | February 9 | February 10 | March 28 |
| 2028 | February 29 | March 1 | April 16 |
| 2029 | February 13 | February 14 | April 1 |
Shrove Tuesday moves with Easter. It always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday.
Why is it called Shrove Tuesday?
“Shrove” is the past tense of “shrive,” the old English word for hearing someone’s confession and giving them a penance. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia explains the name with a sentence from the Ecclesiastical Institutes that Abbot Ælfric translated into Anglo-Saxon around the year 1000: “In the week immediately before Lent everyone shall go to his confessor and confess his deeds.” The days before Lent were therefore called Shrovetide, and the last of them Shrove Tuesday.
The other names point to the feast before the fast:
- Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday,” and Fastnacht in German, “the eve of the fast.”
- Carnival, which the Catholic Encyclopedia derives from the Latin carnem levare, “the taking away of meat,” because Lent was once a fast from meat, eggs and dairy for its whole length.
- Pancake Day in Britain and Ireland, from the custom of using up eggs, milk and fat in pancakes before Lent.
Why pancakes?
For most of Christian history, Lent meant giving up not only meat but also eggs, butter and milk. Families used up what was left in the pantry the day before, and pancakes were the easiest way to do it. The same Lenten fast explains why eggs became the great food of Easter at the other end of Lent. Similar traditions exist everywhere: pączki in Polish communities, semlor buns in Sweden, malasadas in Portugal and Hawaii, and king cake in New Orleans.
Carnival and the Church
Before a long fast, it is natural to celebrate. But the carnival season easily turned into excess, and the Church repeatedly tried to rein it in. In the sixteenth century many places held a special Forty Hours’ adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the Monday and Tuesday before Lent, both to draw people away from the revelry and to make reparation for it. In 1747 Pope Benedict XIV granted a plenary indulgence to those who took part in Eucharistic adoration during the carnival days. See Eucharistic adoration prayers and the Holy Hour.
How to keep Shrove Tuesday as a Catholic
- Go to confession, as the name of the day suggests, so that you begin Lent in God’s grace. See the examination of conscience.
- Have a pancake supper with family or the parish and enjoy it. Feasting before fasting is part of the Church’s rhythm.
- Decide on your Lenten resolutions: one thing to give up, one practice of prayer, and one way of giving. See Lent 2027.
- Burn last year’s palms. Many parishes burn the palms from last Palm Sunday on Shrove Tuesday to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday. Families can bring their old palms to church.
- “Bury the Alleluia.” Since the Alleluia is not sung in Lent, some families write “Alleluia” on a banner or paper and put it away, or bury it, until Easter.
- End the day with prayer and plan to attend Mass on Ash Wednesday.
A prayer for Shrove Tuesday
Written for this page:
Lord God, thank you for the good things of this life,
for the food on our table and the people we share it with.
Tomorrow we begin the forty days of Lent.
Give us true sorrow for our sins and the grace of a good confession.
Make our fasting generous, our prayer faithful and our giving joyful,
so that we may come with clean hearts to the joy of Easter.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
When is Shrove Tuesday 2027?
Tuesday, February 9, 2027. Ash Wednesday is the next day, February 10.
Is Mardi Gras a Catholic holiday?
Mardi Gras is not a feast of the Church’s calendar, but it grew out of Catholic custom: the last day of celebration before the Lenten fast. The Church’s own emphasis for the day is confession and preparation for Lent.
Can Catholics eat meat on Shrove Tuesday?
Yes. Shrove Tuesday is not a day of fasting or abstinence. The fast and abstinence begin on Ash Wednesday.
What is the difference between Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras and Pancake Day?
They are the same day. “Shrove Tuesday” is the traditional English name, “Mardi Gras” the French, and “Pancake Day” the popular British one.
More Lent pages
- Ash Wednesday 2027
- Lent 2027
- Examination of conscience
- Act of Contrition
- Stations of the Cross
- Ember Days
Texts and sources
- Herbert Thurston, “Shrovetide,” Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 13 (1912), Wikisource, including the quotation from Ælfric’s Ecclesiastical Institutes and the history of the Forty Hours and Benedict XIV’s 1747 constitution Super Bacchanalibus.