The idea of “fasting for Lent', a practice which was widespread by the Middle Ages, generated another tradition associated with Lent: Mardi Gras or Carnival. Although the word “carnival” is now used in a general sense to mean festival or even circus, the word ordinally had a much more precise application: it referred specifically to a time of merriment and feasting just before Lent.
To remind people that this was their last day to feast, this celebration was called in Medieval Latin, the “carnelevarium: - a word formed by combining the Latin word “carnis” meaning meat or flesh, with”levare”, meaning to lift away. Literally, therefore, it was the day before the meat was taken away. (Indeed, during the Middle Ages eating meat, drinking alcohol, and all forms of merriment were not permitted during Lent.)
Closely associated with Carnival is Mardi Gras, a festive holiday whose French name, meaning “fat Tuesday”, alludes to the custom of using up all the cooking fat in the kitchen before Lent. It is a time for fun and celebration. The tradition of eating pancakes as a way of using up the eggs, oil, and milk in the house, continues in some churches (including the Parish of Epiphany) today. “Shrove” from the verb “to shrive” (confess and receive absolution) refers to the ritual imposition of ashes (marking the forehead with ash as a sign of penitence) that churches observe on Ash Wednesday.