....it's also Black History month.

But please, on with the pancakes.

About Pancake Day, the holiday: Main article: Shrove Tuesday

In Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, pancakes are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday, which is also known as "Pancake Day" and, particularly in Ireland, as "Pancake Tuesday". (Shrove Tuesday is better known in the United States, France and other countries as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.) Historically, pancakes were made on Shrove Tuesday so that the last of the fatty and rich foods could be used up before Lent.

It is traditional to turn pancakes over by tossing them in the air using the pan and without using any other implements. This is a tricky manoeuvre that requires practice to perfect.

Charity or school events are often organized on Pancake Day. One popular event is a "pancake race" in which each participant carries a pancake in a frying pan. All runners must toss their pancakes as they run and catch them in the frying pan. This event is said to have originated in the town of Olney, England in 1444 when a housewife was still busy frying pancakes to eat before the Lenten fast when she heard the bells of St Peter and St Paul's Church calling her to the Shriving Service. Eager to get to church, she ran out of her house still holding the frying pan complete with pancake, and still wearing her apron and headscarf. Pancake Day is widely celebrated in Australia; ready-made pancake mixes often sell out.

Every Shrove Tuesday since 1950 the towns of Olney, England and Liberal, Kansas, USA have competed in the International Pancake Race. Only local women may compete; they race along a previously agreed course and their times are compared to determine the international winner.

The Rehab UK Parliamentary Pancake Race also takes place every Shrove Tuesday, with teams from the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Fourth Estate battling it out for the title of Parliamentary Pancake Race Champions. The fun relay race is all about raising awareness of the work of national brain injury charity, Rehab UK, and the needs of people with acquired brain injury.

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