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HISTORY OF SHROVE MONDAY
The Monday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Monday. The three days before Ash Wednesday is also known as “Shrovetide,” starting with Quinguagesima Sunday and ending on Mardi Gras. Quinguagesima meant the fiftieth day before Easter, or specifically the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Shrove is the past tense of shrive and is an Old English word meaning “to repent.” Repentance from sin was a common practice during this season.
As we’ll see in tomorrow’s article, meat was usually avoided during the Lenten period of 40 days. So during Shrovetide, immediately before Ash Wednesday, various meat dishes were enjoyed. Another name for Shrove Monday is Collop Monday. Collop is an Elizabethan English word that means a small piece of bacon, which was a part of the breakfast meal eaten on this day. The remaining fat was often kept for making pancakes the next day on Shrove Tuesday.
Rose Monday, in German speaking countries is a transliteration of Rosenmontag which means “running Monday” and is the highlight of the German “Karneval”.
This day is also called Hall Monday and Merry Monday.
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com
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Interesting — this is the first I recall being informed of such a day. I’ll have to ask someone that had a Catholic upbringing if it rings a bell to them. I have found that there are several different days & events that Catholics hold dear that I as a Protestant just have (had) no knowledge of.