Why People Eat Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday Feb.
25, 2020, is Mardi Gras, also known as Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday.
It takes place before Christians observe the start of Lent, leading up to Easter.
But the day has another familiar name: Pancake Day.
The tradition of eating pancakes on this day stems from about A.D. 600, when Pope St.
Gregory prohibited Christians from eating meat and animal products during Lent.
In an effort to use up their eggs, milk and butter before Lent, Christians would make pancakes.
The tradition spread throughout Europe, prompting the French to follow a similar direction by making waffles, crepes and king cake.
They deemed the day to be called Mardi Gras.
The English called it Pancake Day.