Shrovetide

This article is about the liturgical period. For the festive season during the same time, see Carnival.
During Shrovetide, and especially on Shrove Tuesday, many Christians confess their sins, in preparation for the somber season Lent. Shown is an Evangelical Lutheran confessional in Luther Church, Helsinki, Finland

Shrovetide is the Christian liturgical period prior to the start of Lent that begins on Shrove Saturday and ends at the close of Shrove Tuesday.[1][2] The season focuses on examination of conscience and repentance before the Lenten fast.[3][4] It includes Shrove Saturday, Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday and Shrove Tuesday.[1][2]

During Shrovetide, Christians used up ingredients used to make rich foods, inclusive of meat, eggs, lacticinia and alcohol as these things were not enjoyed during the 40-day fasting season of Lent—a practice that continues in Eastern Christianity and among Western Christian congregations practicing the Daniel Fast.[5][6][7][8]

  1. ^ a b O'Connor, Kevin (1 January 2006). Culture and Customs of the Baltic States. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 95. ISBN 9780313331251. As the culmination of the four-day meat-eating period known as Shrovetide, Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent, a period of fasting that begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for 40 days until Easter.
  2. ^ a b Barrow, Mandy (2013). "Shrovetide". Project Britain. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kosloski2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Stephens, Valerie (2016). Basic Philosophy. p. 21. ISBN 978-1329951747. Then there is Shrove Tuesday, which is the day observed before Ash Wednesday or Lent. Shrove Tuesday derives from the days when the earliest practising Christians would repent of their sins and be "shriven" or pardoned.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Campbell2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Samaan2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference RNS2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hinton2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).