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Shrove Monday
noun
- the Monday before Ash Wednesday.
Word History and Origins
Origin of Shrove Monday1
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More About Shrove Monday
What is Shrove Monday?
Shrove Monday is the Monday before Ash Wednesday and the second of the three days of Shrovetide.
Shrovetide is the three-day period before the beginning of Lent, which is the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter. Shrovetide starts on Shrove Sunday and ends on Shrove Tuesday, which is the most well-known of the three days due to being the day before Ash Wednesday and because of its association with the tradition of eating pancakes on that day (it is sometimes called Pancake Day for this reason).
When is Shrove Monday?
Shrove Monday happens 48 days before Easter Sunday. (Lent is often considered a period of 40 days, but it actually consists of 40 weekdays.) Since Easter Sunday moves every year, Shrove Monday can fall between February 2 and March 8.
Shrove Monday 2024 falls on February 12. In 2025, Shrove Monday will fall on March 3.
More information and context on Shrove Monday
The first records of the term Shrove Monday come from the 1400s. Shrove is the past tense of the verb shrive, which means “confess one’s sins, such as to a priest” (it can also mean “to hear confession”).
Shrovetide was once a time that many Christians devoted to confessing their sins before the beginning of Lent. But Lent itself is a time of fasting and abstaining, and Shrovetide eventually became, for many, a time of indulging before the Lenten fast begins.
Traditionally, fasting for Lent has involved giving up foods like eggs and fats (such as butter). Shrove Tuesday is the last day to use up such foods so they don’t go to waste during Lent, and pancakes are one of the easiest (and most delicious) ways to use these ingredients. That’s why Shrove Tuesday is often called Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday, and probably why it’s the best-known of the three days of Shrovetide.
What are some terms that often get used in discussing Shrove Monday?
How is Shrove Monday discussed in real life?
Shrove Monday is not nearly as well-known as Shrove Tuesday, which itself is perhaps most popularly known as Pancake Day.
Today we celebrate Fettisdagen! Fettisdagen is the #Swedish name for the Tuesday after the Quinquagesima and the day between Shrove Monday and Ash Wednesday. Since it is the last day before the Lenten fast, a #tradition has developed of #eating buns, called "𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐥𝐚". Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/B4v8V4bCJp
— Hilton Stockholm (@HiltonStockholm) February 25, 2020
Is it wrong to have pancakes on Shrove sunday, Shrove monday and shrove tuesday?
— 🤓 (@andrew_will) February 16, 2015
After doing Shrove Monday with both youth groups tonight I think I'll give up pancakes for Lent…
— Stewart Perry (@stewartrperry) February 11, 2013
Try using Shrove Monday!
True or False?
Shrove Monday always falls on the same date.
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