Analysis: There may have been feasts and meals the day before Lent began, but it was never a good day for single people.
The day before Lent begins is the most important in all cultures that observe Lent. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also known as Pancake Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, or, in remote areas, Mardi Gras. This day was the one that brought the last explosion before the start of the fasting period, and certainly in terms of food. If stocks allowed, people could have a small feast, but the feast traditionally included pancakes, since the sale of eggs was prohibited during Lent.
One of the Irish customs of the time was to save leftover holly from Christmas for the fire to make pancakes. Since eating meat was to be prohibited during Lent, animals were slaughtered for the final holiday of Shrove Tuesday. Wealthier farmers ensured that their very poor neighbors were also given a share.
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From RTÉ Radio 1’s News At One, Marion McGarry talks about the bizarre traditions once associated with Shrove Tuesday in Ireland.
As is the case with most Irish calendar customs, some ceremonies, including marriage fortune-telling, were also sometimes performed on the night of Shrove Tuesday. There is a strong marriage custom around Shrove Tuesday, which is said to have developed from the fact that weddings could not take place during Lent. Roman Catholics have a tradition of not marrying during fasting periods, Lent, and Advent, so the period leading up to Farewell became a time for weddings. This was a period of increased pressure on singletons. Not getting married was seen as a kind of disregard for social obligations, and single people were considered to have a low social status in Ireland.
What became known as Skellig Night was a Shrove Tuesday tradition in parts of the South, particularly Cork and Kerry. After sunset, raucous crowds took to the streets of the area’s towns, shouting at the still-single young men of Skellig’s night procession and calling them to “Go to the Skelligs.” The Skellig Islands off the coast of County Kerry are said to still operate on the lunar calendar, which is why Ash Wednesday arrives late and therefore the time for singles to go to the islands to get married before Lent begins. There may be more. Sometimes people in disguise called the bachelor’s home and tried to forcefully take him onto the street and jeer him, trying to make as much noise as possible.
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From the RTÉ archives, folklorist Sotham Ó Dálay, from Dun Chaoin, Co. Kerry, talks about the customs and folklore associated with Shrove Tuesday and Lent in a 1982 episode of Fáilte.
Throughout the 19th century, satirical ballads celebrating the trip to Skellig were composed, printed, and sold as broadsides. As noted in his CaoimhinÓ Danachair’s “Chalk Sunday” published in the North Munster Antiquarian Journal, Skellig’s list, which became known as his “Let’s go on an epic oceanic trip” to the islands. It was printed and publicly displayed as a list of those who had done so. They included the names of real people and often veered into offensive territory. Of course, this was all supposed to be considered a harmless joke, but being the only person on the receiving end of either Skellig’s Night or Skellig’s List couldn’t have been more flattering.
The Sunday following Shrove Tuesday, the first Sunday of Lent, is commonly known as Chalk Sunday in Ireland, and public bullying of unmarried people peaked on that day in some areas. Unmarried men had an X or other emblem drawn in chalk on their backs in case of public heckling or cat-calling. This often happened on my way to and from church.
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From the RTÉ archives, Professor Daiti Ó Hogain, Eileen Ní Murtsch and Cille de Clair discuss Shrove Tuesday customs with Teletalk presenter Siana Campbell (1993)
Young men and women were released with chalk marks, but chronically single and unmarried people were particularly targeted. Some were painted with radles, which mark sheep, and were very difficult to remove from clothing. Being chalked up was considered a bit of a joke, while being “shifted” was considered an insult. Pranks were also carried out, including gates being removed from bachelor gateposts and (temporary) graffiti placed on the gateposts. There is a story about a group of pranksters who purposely made dolls dressed in women’s clothes and placed them in front of the homes of single men in order to jokingly give them “wives.”
In some regions, the day was known as Cat Sunday. pus, meaning grimace in Irish) because a person without a partner was said to have a frown, reflecting his constant unhappiness in his unmarried state. The torture of unattached people did not end there. Salt Monday was held in some parts of the country, where condiments were thrown freely at single people “to preserve them for another year.” Oh, how they laughed! Public shaming and humiliation of single people was once a loud and real thing in Ireland, but thankfully these customs had fallen out of fashion by his mid-20th century. However, Pancake Tuesday is still available for everyone to enjoy.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ.