Collop
Encyclopedia
Shrove Monday, sometimes known as Collop Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, is the Monday before Ash Wednesday
; March 7 in 2011. Part of the English traditional Shrovetide celebrations of the week before Lent
, the Monday precedes Shrove Tuesday
. As the Monday before Ash Wednesday, it is part of diverse Carnival
celebrations which take place in many parts of the Christian world, from Greece, to Germany, to the Mardi Gras
and Carnival of the Americas.
for one's sin
s by way of Confession
and doing penance
. Thus Shrovetide gets its name from the shriving that English Christians were expected to do prior to receiving absolution immediately before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is the last day of "shrovetide", somewhat analogous to the Carnival
tradition that developed separately in countries of Latin Europe
. The term "Shrove Monday" or "Shrove Tuesday" are no longer widely used in the United States outside of Liturgical Traditions, such as the Lutheran, Episcopal, and Roman Catholic Churches.
of bacon
) along with eggs
. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast
and is part of the traditional Lent
en preparations. In addition to providing a little meat, the collops were also the source of the fat for the following day's pancakes. The word collop, here, is taken to mean a small piece of bacon. In general it is used to refer to a small piece of meat
.
In Cornwall
, it is called Nickanan Night
or Peasen Monday (pea soup
is served instead of meat).
, as part of the pre-lenten Fasching festival (or Feast of Fools), it is and part of the parade season, a day of marching. revelry, and satirical floats. In the Carnival in Denmark
, it is called Fastelavn.
(most years falling later than the Western Church, usually in March), Shrove Monday is called Clean Monday. It is the first day of "Great Lent
", and is traditionally considered the beginning of spring in Greece
and Cyprus
, where it is a Bank Holiday. Different traditions take place in different localities. In the town of Tyrnavos
, for instance, feasts are followed by songs and dances with Bacchic
overtones.
Liturgically, the day begins on the preceding evening, and the observance of Great Lent begins at Vespers
on Sunday evening with the "Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness", at which each person present bows before all the others and they mutually ask forgiveness.
On Clean Monday itself, in addition to religious services, celebrations involve kite flying and partaking of Lenten foods.
In Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
J'ouvert
, or "Dirty Mas", takes place before dawn on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. Thus Shrove Monday is known as Carnival Monday. "J'ouvert" means "opening day", a contraction of "Jour d'Overt". Here revelers dress in old clothes and cover themselves in mud, oil paint and body paint. A common character to be seen at this time is "Jab-jabs" (devils, blue, black or red) complete with pitch fork, pointed horns and tails. Here also, a king and queen of the J'ouvert are chosen, based on their representation of current political/social events/issues.
Carnival Monday involves the parade of the mas bands, but on a casual or relaxed scale. Usually revelers wear only parts of their costumes, and the purpose of the day is more one of fun than display or competition. Also on Carnival Monday, Monday Night Mas is popular in most towns and especially the capital, where smaller bands participate in competition.
, dating back to the 19th century, have since the late 20th century been named Lundi Gras
.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
; March 7 in 2011. Part of the English traditional Shrovetide celebrations of the week before Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, the Monday precedes Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
. As the Monday before Ash Wednesday, it is part of diverse Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
celebrations which take place in many parts of the Christian world, from Greece, to Germany, to the Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
and Carnival of the Americas.
Shrovetide
The word shrove is the past tense of the English verb shrive, which means to obtain absolutionAbsolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
for one's sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
s by way of Confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
and doing penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
. Thus Shrovetide gets its name from the shriving that English Christians were expected to do prior to receiving absolution immediately before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is the last day of "shrovetide", somewhat analogous to the Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
tradition that developed separately in countries of Latin Europe
Latin Europe
Latin Europe is a loose term for the region of Europe with an especially strong Latin cultural heritage inherited from the Roman Empire.-Application:...
. The term "Shrove Monday" or "Shrove Tuesday" are no longer widely used in the United States outside of Liturgical Traditions, such as the Lutheran, Episcopal, and Roman Catholic Churches.
Collop Monday
The British name Collop Monday is after the traditional dish of the day, consisting of slices of leftover meat (collopsCollops
Collops are slices of meat. The derivation of the term is uncertain. It appears to be related to the Swedish word kalops, rather than to the French word escalope.In Elizabethan times, "collops" came to refer specifically to slices of bacon...
of bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
) along with eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
and is part of the traditional Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
en preparations. In addition to providing a little meat, the collops were also the source of the fat for the following day's pancakes. The word collop, here, is taken to mean a small piece of bacon. In general it is used to refer to a small piece of meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
.
In Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, it is called Nickanan Night
Nickanan Night
Nickanan Night is a Cornish feast, traditionally held on the Monday before Lent. Sometimes called roguery night in West Cornwall, this event was an excuse for local youths to undertake acts of minor vandalism and play practical jokes on neighbours and family...
or Peasen Monday (pea soup
Pea soup
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made, typically, from dried peas. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.Pea soup has been eaten since antiquity; it...
is served instead of meat).
German carnivals
Shrove Monday is part of the German, Danish, and Austrian Carnival calendar, called Rosenmontag. In the RhinelandRhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, as part of the pre-lenten Fasching festival (or Feast of Fools), it is and part of the parade season, a day of marching. revelry, and satirical floats. In the Carnival in Denmark
Carnival in Denmark
Fastelavn is the name for Carnival in Denmark which is either the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday. Fastelavn evolved from the Roman Catholic tradition of celebrating in the days before Lent, but after Denmark became a Protestant nation, the holiday became less specifically religious...
, it is called Fastelavn.
Eastern Orthodox traditions
In the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendarEastern Orthodox liturgical calendar
The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Associated with each date are passages of Holy Scripture, Saints and events for commemoration, and many times special rules for fasting or feasting that correspond to the day of...
(most years falling later than the Western Church, usually in March), Shrove Monday is called Clean Monday. It is the first day of "Great Lent
Great Lent
Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Pascha . In many ways Great Lent is similar to Lent in Western Christianity...
", and is traditionally considered the beginning of spring in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, where it is a Bank Holiday. Different traditions take place in different localities. In the town of Tyrnavos
Tyrnavos
Tyrnavos is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly region of Greece. Tyrnavos is the prefecture's third largest community within the Larissa prefecture. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain. The river Titarisios, a tributary of the Pineios, flows through...
, for instance, feasts are followed by songs and dances with Bacchic
Bacchanalia
The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...
overtones.
Liturgically, the day begins on the preceding evening, and the observance of Great Lent begins at Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
on Sunday evening with the "Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness", at which each person present bows before all the others and they mutually ask forgiveness.
On Clean Monday itself, in addition to religious services, celebrations involve kite flying and partaking of Lenten foods.
Caribbean Carnivals
In most American Carnivals which take place before Ash Wednesday—Shrove Monday is the opening day of parades. In some Carnivals, Sunday is celebrated as the opening, while in others still, Carnival is celebrated at other times of year.In Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event celebrated on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the most significant event on the islands' cultural and tourism calendar, with numerous cultural events running in the lead up to the street parade on...
J'ouvert
J'ouvert
J'ouvert is a large street party during Carnival in the eastern Caribbean region. J'ouvert is a contraction of the French jour ouvert, or dawn/day break....
, or "Dirty Mas", takes place before dawn on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. Thus Shrove Monday is known as Carnival Monday. "J'ouvert" means "opening day", a contraction of "Jour d'Overt". Here revelers dress in old clothes and cover themselves in mud, oil paint and body paint. A common character to be seen at this time is "Jab-jabs" (devils, blue, black or red) complete with pitch fork, pointed horns and tails. Here also, a king and queen of the J'ouvert are chosen, based on their representation of current political/social events/issues.
Carnival Monday involves the parade of the mas bands, but on a casual or relaxed scale. Usually revelers wear only parts of their costumes, and the purpose of the day is more one of fun than display or competition. Also on Carnival Monday, Monday Night Mas is popular in most towns and especially the capital, where smaller bands participate in competition.
Lundi Gras
The Shrove Monday events of the New Orleans Mardi GrasMardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
, dating back to the 19th century, have since the late 20th century been named Lundi Gras
Lundi Gras
Lundi Gras is a relatively recently popularized name for a series of Shrove Monday events taking place during the New Orleans Mardi Gras. It includes the tradition of Rex, king of the New Orleans carnival, arriving by boat...
.