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Shrovetide

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Shrovetide (Norway) (Fastelavn)
Between February 3 and March 9; Sunday before Ash Wednesday
Formerly observed on the Monday before Ash Wednesday, Fastelavn, or Shrove Sunday, is a holiday that Norwegian children anticipate eagerly. They rise at dawn and, armed with fastelavnsris (decorated birch or evergreen branches), they go from room to room and strike with their branches anyone who is still in bed. The children receive a hot cross bun for every victim they spank.
The fastelavnsris can be quite elaborate, often decorated with tinsel and paper streamers or brightly colored paper roses. Sometimes a doll with stiff, full skirts is tied to the topmost branch. The curious custom of switching with branches may be traced to an ancient pagan rite heralding the fruitfulness of spring.
SOURCES:
BkFest-1937, p. 249
FestWestEur-1958, p. 151

Celebrated in: Norway
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This ball was an exceptional affair, given some time before Shrovetide, in honor of the anniversary of the birth of a famous draftsman; and it was expected to be much gayer, noisier, more Bohemian than the ordinary masked ball.
The Phantom of the Opera by Leroux, Gaston View in context
"And, what is more," said Hordle John, suddenly appearing out of the buttery with the huge board upon which the pastry was rolled, "if either raise sword I shall flatten him like a Shrovetide pancake.
The White Company by Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan View in context
 
 
 
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