A legend of monks with chilly heads, an angel holding a golden frying pan and a fictional Sint Pannekoek. Yes, right now is Dutch pancake day!
While a lot of the world cooks their favorite candy (and savoury, I suppose) pancakes on Shrove Tuesday within the early months of the 12 months, folks in Rotterdam have a unique custom.
Every 12 months, on 29 November, numerous Netherlands residents put pancakes on their heads in a unusual celebration that has gained traction.
Once the edible hat is in place, followers of the custom say: “We wish you a happy and blessed Saint Pancake (Sint Pannekoek)!”
So, how did we get there?
The celebration was invented in 1986 in a cartoon by Dutch cartoonist Jan Kruis, during which a father comes house within the night to search out his household carrying pancakes on their heads.
Three many years later, Mr Kruis expanded the concept with The Gospel of Saint Pannekoek.
In this piece, he tells the story of Twelfth-century monks in a monastery celebrating a younger monk’s birthday and consuming pancakes – however there’s solely sufficient for one every.
When the previous abbott turns into chilly, the younger monk locations his pancake upon the elder’s head.
At this, an angel descends from heaven holding a golden frying pan and flips a pancake onto the younger monk’s head.
“The Lord has done us a miracle! We have a saint in our midst!” the others cry, and put their very own pancakes on their heads.
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To study extra about Sint Pannekoek, Sky News spoke to Dr Henriette Louwerse, a senior lecturer in Dutch on the University of Sheffield.
“It is totally made up of course, but apparently it has gained some traction,” she instructed us.
“I like the implicit criticism of ‘the holiness of traditions’. The tendency to suggest that if traditions change, a profound identity is somehow infringed.”
Source: information.sky.com”