So, apparently, it’s Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday; whatever you want to call it, this Tuesday is the day before Lent. And, if you’re in London, it’s also Pancake Day. And, as we all know, nothing says “Pancake Day” so much as sticking on a silly costume, picking up a frying pan, and engaging in a footrace with other Pancake Day celebrants.
That’s what happened in London on this fateful Tuesday.
Racers dressed in costumes including a number two pencil, a penguin and a strawberry ran with a frying pan in hand through a central London square to compete in the annual pancake flipping competition. The celebration of Pancake Day takes place each year on Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday, the final day before the 40-day Christian fasting season of Lent.
And, yes, a pencil costume. Not sure what the significance of this is.
Uh, what? pic.twitter.com/9S4PPZFZRN
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) February 17, 2026
What’s more, it seems this has been going on for many years now. Who knew?
In Olney, England, the Pancake Race tradition dates back nearly 600 years to 1445. A woman engrossed in using up cooking fats (forbidden during Lent) was making pancakes. Hearing the church bells ring calling everyone to the shriving service, she grabbed her head scarf (required in church) and ran 415 yards to the church, skillet and pancake in hand and still apron-clad. In following years, neighbors got into the act and it became a race to see who could reach the church first and collect a “Kiss of Peace” from the verger (bell-ringer.)
A “Kiss of Peace?” Well, why not?
According to that same page, you don’t have to go to the UK to participate, either. There are Pancake Day events right here in the USA.
It all started in 1950 from a magazine picture of the Olney women racing each other to the church. Liberal Jaycee President R.J. Leete contacted the Rev. Ronald Collins, Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul’s church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal. Like in Olney, the traditional prize of the race is the “Kiss of Peace” from the verger (bellringer).
International Pancake Day in Liberal has expanded into a full day event, beginning this year on Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2025, with a pancake breakfast, pancake eating and flipping contests, youth races, a men’s pacer race, the international race, the shriving service, an international video call between the two cities, and capping it with a parade.
Again, who knew?
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These kinds of local – and in this case, not-so-local – events, well, they’re not just fun. They can be a part of a community’s unique culture, even if that culture does involve sticking on a silly outfit, picking up a frying pan, and racing your neighbors. Why not?
The schedule – that’s pronounced “shedjule” over there – has a pancake breakfast, of course. Then the games begin: Races for girls, races for boys, mascot races, and something called a Men’s Pacer race – not sure what that is. And then, there is the big deal, the International Pancake Day Race. It’s no doubt a good time, and we Americans have a few odd traditions of our own. For example, here in Alaska, we celebrate Independence Day by launching cars off a cliff, so who are we to judge?
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After all, some people juggle geese.
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