History of Shrove Monday: Ahead of Mardi Gras

HISTORY OF SHROVE MONDAY

The Monday before Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Monday. The three days before Ash Wednesday are known as “Shrovetide,” starting with Quinquagesima Sunday and ending on Shrove Tuesday, a day more popularly known as Mardi Gras.

Quinquagesima meant the fiftieth day before Easter, specifically the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday, marking Lent‘s beginning.

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.

The Royal Shrovetide Football Match is typically played on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England, tracing back to the time of Henry II in the 12th century (think of the play/movie The Lion in Winter.)

Shrove Monday and Lent

Collop

As we’ll see in tomorrow’s article on Mardi Gras, Christians usually avoided meat during the Lenten period of 40 days. So during Shrovetide, immediately before Lent began on Ash Wednesday, believers enjoyed various meat dishes.

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. Cooks often kept the remaining fat 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” procession.

This day is also called Hall Monday and Merry Monday.

Shrove Monday in the East

It goes by other names in the eastern part of Europe and beyond. Clean Monday in Greece is known as Pure, Ash, or Green Monday. While meat, eggs, and dairy products are traditionally forbidden during Lent to Orthodox Christians, fish is eaten on major feast days. Shellfish and mollusks are enjoyed on Clean Monday. Kite flying is a popular activity during this time. St. Thomas Christians in India and other Eastern Catholic churches observe some of these practices.

Will you strive to shrove this season?

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com

Related posts:

History of Mardi Gras: Why is it called Fat Tuesday? History of Ash Wednesday: Where does the Ash come from? History of March: Why in like a Lion and out like a Lamb?