Fat Tuesday!

Today is Fat Tuesday.... For my family that means two things. It means "Pancake Tuesday" from the days that we lived in Ireland many years ago but it also now means something else, "Semladagen", or Semla day.

Let me explain, The term Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.

In Ireland, pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. This fasting emphasized eating plainer food and refraining from food that would give pleasure: In many cultures, this means no meat, dairy, or eggs.

 Pancakes for dinner tonight!

In Sweden the day is called Fettisdagen (Fat Tuesday) and is generally celebrated by eating a type of pastry called Semla. Today, the Swedish Semla consists of a cardamom-spiced wheat bun which has its top cut off and insides scooped out, and is then filled with a mix of the scooped-out bread crumbs, milk and almond paste, topped with whipped cream. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar. Today it is often eaten on its own, with coffee or tea. Some people still eat it in a bowl of hot milk.

I picked these Semla buns up today at a local bakery 

owned by a family in our ward. 

They were delicious! 

So what does this mean for the Kendrick family? It means that at some point in the day we eat pancakes and pastries!!! Hey, you can't mess with tradition!