The Tuesday before the beginning of Lent is a big deal in many cultures. Brazil has parties and parades for Carnival, Louisiana has beads and Bourbon Street for Mardi Gras, and Britain has…well…pancake races for Shrove Tuesday. If you’re curious, read on for my guide to the Shrove Tuesday pancake races in London.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Races in London
When I first learned about the peculiar tradition of Shrove Tuesday pancake races I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping for something more ostensibly festive, or at least less of a hassle on the part of the participants.
Why couldn’t people just spend the day drinking and dancing instead of slaving over a skillet and running a relay race carrying a giant crepe?
Leave it to the English to take an otherwise celebratory holiday and turn it into something less fun. Typical!
History of Shrove Tuesday Pancakes
Still, I was curious about this pancake racing tradition. I did a little research and talked to a couple of English people to find out the story behind Shrove Tuesday pancake races in London.
Apparently the tradition stems from the days when people took Lent seriously and cleared out their pantries before the season started. That meant getting rid of eggs, flour, and other pancake ingredients.
What better way to use them all up than making a huge batch of pancakes and adding whatever else they could find as filler?
Legend has it that one woman was so busy making pancakes that when the church bells rang, she ran all the way to mass, frying pan in hand. Thus was born the tradition of Shrove Tuesday pancake races.
The Great Spitalfields Pancake Race in London
Educated, I decided it would be fun to witness this rather zany ritual firsthand. With Pancake Day being such a big deal in the UK, the Shrove Tuesday pancake races in London must be exciting, right?
On Tuesday morning I made my way to east London for The Great Spitalfields Pancake Race at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.
I arrived in time to watch several heats of pancake races in London, all of which involved young people dressed in outlandish costumes running up and down the street, stopping mid-way to flip their crepes in the air.
Despite my initial pessimism about the British Lenten celebration, the Shrove Tuesday pancake races in London were thoroughly entertaining.
Typically English, the crowds weren’t overly enthusiastic about cheering on their favorite teams and the participants took the event only semi-seriously. But that just made the ritual all the more British.
Come to think of it, the pancake races were a more fitting pre-Lenten celebration for Britain than a big parade anyway.
Pancake Races in London
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Shrove Tuesday pancake races in London. They’re a unique tradition and a fun one to observe (or participate in, if you’re brave).
If you get a chance to attend a Pancake Day race yourself someday, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I have.
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