When is Pancake Day?

Shrove Tuesday, 2026 to 2035

Why 47 days

Lent lasts forty days, but the Sundays in it are not counted, because each Sunday is a celebration of Easter. From Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter there are 46 days, of which six are Sundays, which leaves forty days of fasting. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, so 47 days before Easter Day. The Church of England calendar prints the dates of Ash Wednesday and Easter each year; Easter itself is fixed by the tables of the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.

Customs around the day

In Britain, Shrove Tuesday means thin pancakes, usually served with lemon and sugar. In other countries the same day is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, and the end of carnival. Several English towns hold Shrovetide football matches with hundreds of players and few rules, the best known at Ashbourne in Derbyshire, played over two days. Pancake races are held in Olney, in the City of London and in many schools and churches, usually around midday.

Planning ahead

Supermarkets stock up on eggs, flour and lemons in the week before, and some restaurants take bookings for pancake menus. Because the date moves by up to five weeks, it can fall in the February school half term or well after it; half-term dates are set locally and are not covered here. The simulator under the summary gives the date for any year, the days since New Year and the Easter that follows. Ash Wednesday and Lent follow the next day, and Mother's Day comes on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

A basic batter

The usual British recipe uses 100 g of plain flour, two eggs and 300 ml of milk, beaten to a thin batter and rested for half an hour. A little butter or oil in a hot pan, a thin layer of batter, and a toss once the edges lift. The first pancake is traditionally the one that goes wrong. Lemon juice and caster sugar remain the classic topping, though maple syrup, chocolate spread and fruit are just as common now.

Because the batter needs only store-cupboard ingredients, Pancake Day has stayed one of the most widely kept customs of the year, in households of every religion and none. Many schools and churches hold pancake races, which are a good way to mark the start of Lent in a community.

The simulator under the summary also shows Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday for the year you choose, so the whole run of Lent can be planned at once.