How to Throw a Lupercalia Pancake Party
Who doesn’t love Pancake Day? Hovering on the cusp of spring, a sanctified invitation to dine on sugar-sprinkled stodge for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But did you know that Shrove Tuesday, like so many Christian celebrations, actually has pre-Christian roots? In holy lore, Shrove Tuesday (also known as Mardi Gras or ‘Fat Tuesday’) is a time to confess your sins, burn last year’s palm leaves, choose something to give up for Lent, and eat pancakes, sweets and other rich foods before fasting for 40 days. The theme is purification, just like its pre-Christian predecessor: The Ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia.
The Romans observed Lupercalia every year to purify the city, promote health and boost fertility. The purification instruments used, known as the februa, gave the month of February its name. It coincides with the purification we see in the natural world as February marks the end of winter, when old life sinks into the earth and new growth begins again. It’s a time to purge unwanted thoughts and behaviours, and welcome in a brighter, warmer kind of energy. The Romans called this festival Lupercalia in honour of Lupercus, the Roman god of fertility. In the creation myth of the founding of Rome, Lupercus helped the she-wolf take care of Romulus and Remus, which is why Lupercalia was also a celebration for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
In true Roman fashion, Lupercalia was said to be a booze-fuelled festival of feasting, mating and merrymaking, after which the participants would fast for 40 days. Rituals were held in the Lupercal cave, the Palatine Hill and the Forum, all of which were important locations in the story of Romulus and Remus. Near the cave stood a sanctuary dedicated to Rumina, goddess of breastfeeding, and the wild fig tree, whose pendulous, milky fruits were likened to breasts. The day’s rituals were facilitated by a priesthood called the Luperci or ‘brothers of the wolf’, and included the sacrifice of goats and dogs, a sacrificial feast to follow, and a naked jog around the block carrying the flayed skins of the animals. These were used as whips to strike pregnant and barren women in the hope it would boost their fertility.
This year, as you’re sprinkling sugar and lemon on the fifteenth pancake of the day, consider taking your Pancake Day celebrations back to Ancient Rome by trying a Lupercalia ritual for yourself!
How to Throw a Lupercalia Pancake Party
1. Find a cave with wild fig trees growing outside. Decorate.
2. Choose a nice corner in which to make a Lupercal altar.
3. Invite friends, family, breastfeeding women and ancient priests to join.
4. Approach the altar and sacrifice two male goats, a dog and a plate of salted mealcakes pre-prepared by virgin priestesses.
5. Anoint guests with sacrificial blood, then clean knife with wool soaked in milk.
6. Everyone laughs.
7. Ask priests to cut strips from the animals’ skin.
8. Invite guests to remove their clothes and run naked around the nearest hill carrying the strips of skin. Strike anyone who approaches, particularly pregnant and infertile women.
9. All guests return to cave for pancakes.