When is Pancake Day 2022? Here are all the key Easter dates you need to know

Virgin Radio

25 Feb 2022, 09:46

Credit:

If you’ve been stuck wondering why Pancake Day hasn’t happened yet - we’ve got the answer.

Over the last few years, Pancake Day, or otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday, has occurred in February, so it only feels right that the sweet - or savoury - day remains in that month.

So when is Pancake Day this year?

The Christian holiday known as Shrove Tuesday isn’t fixed to an actual date, and so this year, you can get the sugar and lemon out for Tuesday 1st March.

How they work it out depends on when Easter lands, as Shrove Tuesday is on the seventh week before Easter and the day before Ash Wednesday.

This time frame is also known as Lent, which historically marks a celebration of rich and decadent foods before fasting begins.

Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?

While delicious with a number of sweet or savoury toppings, pancakes were historically just a good way to use up any rich or fatty foods still in the pantry before they go off ahead of the long fast of Lent.

While today we use it to justify eating an inordinate amount of chocolate spread once a year, religiously speaking, the ingredients of a pancake represent the four pillars of Christianity. Eggs for creation, flour as a core part of our diet, salt for wholesomeness and milk for purity.

Credit: Getty

When are the Easter holidays this year?

This year, Easter Sunday is on 17th April, which is almost two weeks later than last year.

Good Friday is of course before, so on the 15th April, and the lovely long weekend finishes up on Easter Monday, 18th April.

How are the Easter dates decided?

Our Easter dates are all down to the moon - and us using the solar, Gregorian calendar rather than the lunar one.

Easter falls from the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring equinox in March.

The full moon happens on different dates each year because the calendar year nor the cycle of the moon (which is 29.5 days) divides over a seven-day week, meaning Easter Sunday can move around a lot over a month.

This year, the equinox will happen on 20th March, meaning the full moon following will be on Saturday 16th April, and Easter Sunday is the day after.

If you're looking for some pancake inspiration check out Aldi's Pancake Day range with a bargain emoji frying pan for £8.