Pancake Day Traditions

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day) for much of North America. Traditionally, pancake day is the day before Ash Wednesday and is the last day before the beginning of 40 days of Lent. During Lent, it was customary to give up little pleasures. In today's society, some people will give up using credit cards for Lent, or drinking pop, or eating candy, things of that ilk. Years ago, it was customary to give up eating meat for Lent, and to use up things like meat, butter, flour, the tradition of Pancake Day began. Pancake Day, is the last day to use up these ingredients before the Lent season begins.

In my home province of Newfoundland, Canada, we have our own traditions on Pancake Day. There are Pancake Day Races, church breakfasts, etc. And just about every household I know participates in making and eating pancakes for the evening meal. However, there's a twist.

In Newfoundland, you are supposed to put trinkets into your pancake batter. Each trinket was symbolic of the future and it was so much fun as a child to try to find the trinket that you wanted. I carry this tradition with me wherever I go, and every year, on Pancake Day, I still make pancakes for my husband and me. The trinkets traditionally used were the following:
-- a penny, to symbolize poverty
-- a nickel, to symbolize wealth
-- a string, to symbolize a fisherman (if a boy got the string, he would be a fisherman, if a girl did, she would marry one)
-- a wedding ring, to symbolize that you would marry soon
-- a button, to symbolize that you would never marry
-- a nail, to symbolize that you would soon pass away
-- a thimble, to symbolize that you would be a seamstress (a girl) or a tailor (a boy)

In our house, my mom never included the nail when we were kids for fear that we would inadvertently bite it and harm ourselves. Consequently, as an adult, I've never put it in my batter. Not to mention it's a tad morbid too! Additionally, now that we have one and two dollar coins in Canada, folks generally shun the idea of the penny/nickel thing, and put in lots of money for people to find, sometimes up to $5 worth! As children, my sister and I used to consume far too many pancakes in search of the ring or the money, and we despised getting the button.

This year, I am especially blessed. Mom and my aunt are visiting me and they will be here to celebrate Pancake Day with us. We're figuring out what to put in the batter now. There'll most certainly be money and a button, a thimble and likely a ring. We will probably omit the nail and the string; we'll see. Either way, it promises to be an enjoyable tradition that I get to celebrate with my family.

There's one thing missing though: the knowledge that some day, I can pass these traditions on to my own children as my mom has done for me and my sister.

**Edited to add**
For those who might be wondering, I got $2.35 out of my pancakes.