Pancake Race
Every year on Shrove Tuesday (known in some countries as Pancake Tuesday, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday) there are Shrove Tuesday Pancake Races throughout the UK.
The UK version of pre-Lenten gluttony is a curious tradition, but a fun one nonetheless.
Legend has it that long ago a woman was so late for church on Shrove Tuesday that she ran all the way there with her pancake still in a frying pan. Since then pancake races have been a part of Shrove Tuesday tradition in the UK.
Shrove Tuesday Pancake Races are held throughout London and other UK cities, and usually follow a basic formula: teams of people (sometimes wearing fancy dress) race with a skillet holding a pancake, flipping the pancake mid-race. Crowds of people line the streets to cheer on their favorite teams or just to enjoy the spectacle.
Major Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race events in London include the Great Spitalfields Pancake Race (Dray Walk on Brick Lane), the Poulters Company Pancake Races, the Better Bankside Pancake Race (London Bridge), and the Parliamentary Pancake Race (cheer for your favorite MP!).