Pancake Day is the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent. Originally a religious festival, it's now also an excuse to get out the frying pan and cook up a feast.

Here are a few facts about Pancake Day that you might not know...

Around the world...
Shrove Tuesday - or Pancake Tuesday - is known as Fasnacht in Germany (night of the fast) In Italy it is called Carnivale (from the Latin for 'goodbye to the flesh') and Mardi Gras (literally 'Fat Tuesday') is celebrated in places as diverse as New Orleans, Brazil and Australia.

How did it start?
Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Traditionally, families would use up their luxury foods like milk, sugar, eggs and butter, before the 40 days of fasting began.

Why shrove Tuesday?
The word shrove comes from the ritual of shriving. People would go to church and confess their sins to a priest, who would grant them absolution. The shriven individual would then be in a pure state, ready for the Lenten period of fasting and abstinence.

Skipping and flipping
On Shrove Tuesday in Scarborough, locals enjoy the customs of Ringing the Pancake Bell and Shrovetide Skipping. Long skipping ropes are set up across the promenade and up to 10 people have to skip at once! At St. Columb Major in Cornwall, rival villages play Hurling the Silver Ball, using a ball of applewood covered in silver. Meanwhile, pancake races take place in Winster (Derbyshire), Bodiam (East Sussex), and Olney (Buckinghamshire).

How to make pancakes
Ingredients: plain white flour: 8 oz, unsalted butter: 1 oz, milk: 1 pint, small pinch of salt, 2 medium eggs
Method: Mix the ingredients together to make a smooth batter, which should be the consistency of double cream. Some cooks like to rest the batter for at least 30 minutes before using it. This lets the batter relax and the starch molecules have time to expand.
Then cook the pancakes in a hot frying pan until golden brown on both sides. Ideally the pan should be non stick; pancakes taste less oily when you don't have to add anything to the pan beforehand.
To toss or not : If you don't want to toss your pancakes, just slip a plate over the pan and upend the pan quickly over the plate. Slide the pancake back in the pan to brown the uncooked side.

Good things to put on pancakes
Traditionalists favour lemon juice and sugar but you could also try golden syrup, cinnamon, maple syrup, jam, fruit, yoghurt or even Marmite! Alternatively, why not adopt a continental approach and go for cheese, ham and mushroom or cream cheese and spinach.