Why People Eat Pancakes , on Shrove Tuesday.<br />Feb. 16, 2021, is Mardi Gras, also known as <br />Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday.<br />It takes place before Christians observe <br />the start of Lent, leading up to Easter.<br />But the day has <br />another familiar name: , Pancake Day.<br />The tradition of eating pancakes on <br />this day stems from about A.D. 600.<br />when Pope St. Gregory prohibited Christians from eating meat and animal products during Lent.<br />In an effort to use up their eggs, milk and butter before Lent, Christians would make pancakes.<br />The tradition spread throughout Europe, <br />prompting the French to follow a similar direction <br />by making waffles, crepes and king cake.<br />They deemed the day <br />to be called Mardi Gras.<br />The English called <br />it Pancake Day
