When is Pancake Day 2025? Why we celebrate Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and perfect pancake recipe

Also known as Shrove Tuesday, it’s traditionally a Catholic holiday, although many people from various cultures and religions now celebrate it around the world.

It also marks the day before lent, allowing us to be greedy before giving up bad habits for a few weeks before Easter.

Here’s everything you need to know.

When is Pancake Day 2025?

Pancake Day is on Tuesday, March 4 in 2025.

The day changes every year, according to when Lent falls, although Pancake Day always falls in February or March.

When is Ash Wednesday 2025?

Ash Wednesday always follows Shrove Tuesday, which means it falls on March 5 in 2025.

This is exactly six weeks before Easter celebrations begin.

Why does Pancake Day fall on a different date each year?

The date of Pancake Day depends on the date of Easter - it always falls exactly 47 days before - and the date of Easter varies pretty widely from year to year.

The reason for that is that the date on which Easter falls depends on the lunar cycle as Easter Sunday always falls after the first full moon following the Spring equinox. This year, that’s April 20, which is unusually late in the year.

What is Lent?

Many Catholics will give up luxuries such as sweet foods or favourite dishes during Lent.

Traditionally, they would have given up meat and dairy, though fish could still be consumed.

For the hours before Catholics receive their ashes on Ash Wednesday, adult Catholics will often still refrain from eating anything at all.

This is because the Bible tells how Jesus abstained from eating for 40 days and 40 nights on his journey into the desert before he was crucified.

Catholics replicate the sacrifice Christ made, which is known as Lenten sacrifice.

Why do we celebrate Pancake Day?

Pancake Tuesday is the traditional feast day before Lent begins, and is celebrated across the United Kingdom and parts of the Commonwealth.

France and the US celebrate Mardi Gras on this day, as it signifies the end of a six-week carnival season and is also known as ‘Fat Tuesday’.

Its proper name is Shrove Tuesday and it marks the day before Ash Wednesday, when Catholics may begin to abstain from eating meat, eggs, animal produce, or other foods or habits for 40 days.

A bell would be rung out for people to attend church, which became known as the pancake bell, as it was rung at noon as a gesture to stop working and begin to prepare your pancakes.

After confession, families would go home to use up any eggs and fats they had before embarking on their lent fast.

The easiest way to use up such produce was to make a pancake-like batter and fry it in fats, as a means of ensuring food did not go to waste.

Why is it called Shrove Tuesday?

Anglo-Saxon Catholics would also often attend confession at their parish church on the day, where they would be ‘shriven’, or forgiven for their sins. This practice gave Shrove Tuesday its name.

How to make the perfect pancakes

A really quick, easy an tasty pancake recipe is as follows. You will need:

• 6oz self-raising flour
• 1oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200ml milk
• 1 large egg

1. Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl, until the batter is smooth.
2. Heat a frying pan on a medium heat and add a small knob of butter, allowing it to coat the pan with a thin layer of grease.
3. Ladle a dollop of batter onto the pan. When bubbles begin to form on the surface it is time to flip.
4. Cook until the underside turns golden brown.

Serve with any of your favourite toppings - our tip is sliced banana and maple syrup.