Whats so special about 2nd Feb

The 2nd of February is a particularly auspicious day in France. It is a religious holiday that commemorates the time when Jesus was first presented in the Jerusalem temple. The holiday in France is referred to as La Chandeleur. On this day a lot of crepes are devoured and this soon evolved into a magnificent celebration. Prior to the 2nd of February befitting a religious holiday, the festival of Chandeleur was also rooted in many pagan traditions, that celebrated the earth's fertility and the demise of winter. This was deemed a very good omen for the time of harvest. The festival gained popularity, when Pope Gelasius inaugurated 'The festival des Chandelles', on the 2nd of February in the 5th century A.D. This tradition involved a candlelit procession all through the Roman city streets. where at the end of the procession, the candles would be placed in the church walls. Pope Gelasius merged the tradition by handing out galettes, which is a salty base crepe, to all the poor pilgrims who would visit Rome during this celebratory occasion.

Why was Crepes the choice of celebration?

Crepes were big round and flat and since they represented the sun, it was the perfect delicacy to distribute on the occasion. There are other contributes to why crepes were the favored meal, one such reason being, that this was a fabulous way to use the excess wheat that was stocked up. With the new harvest ahead, the abundance of wheat would, in fact, bring plenty yield and a good way to rejoice with the new harvest and the end of winter,r since the days had also started to get longer.

The French do not proclaim Shrove Tuesday, but they have another name for the festival. Its called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday and is based on the concept like Shrove Tuesday when people enjoy a good meal, prior to Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40 day period of fasting observed by Christians, to acknowledge the 40 days when Jesus Christ fasted and walked through the desert.

Crepes are a style of pancakes that are flat and round. The crepe is considered to be delicate and light and packed with flavours, that gets wrapped around a stuffing of diversity of fresh fruits and nuts. The beauty about crepes is they go well with anything. The tradition has even evolved to people stuffing crepes with whatever leftovers are present like meats, fruits, cream, mushrooms, frozen yogurt, vanilla cream, peanut butter, chocolates, etc. The magic about Worlds Crepe Dayor International Crepe Day is that it can be a universal savory occasion and can be had at any time of the day.

 How can you celebrate Crepe Day?

Celebrating Crepe day is a fun-filled activity for your stomach. It comprises of assembling whatever you have at home that may get spoilt once lent starts. So grab your eggs, milk, chocolates, fruits from your basket and whoop up an extravagant crepe. You can also have a pancake race, which is followed a lot in the European countries by running with a pan in your hand, while you continue flipping over your crepe. You can also have a family reunion, where everyone brings their own style and recipe of crepes made with a variety of ingredients and openly celebrate a family get together in a harvest style.

Don’t forget the wish

Yes, that's right, the legend goes as you have to hold a coin in your left hand, while you flip the crepe with the other. You also need to compose a wish while the flipping is in process. It is said to bring prosperity for the new year to come. In case you don't have the time to make a crepe. There are many restaurants that make the best crepes in the city. 99pancakes is one such restaurant, where you can seize your crepes and either relish it there or simply order a takeaway. The freshness of the locally grown organic ingredients and using traditional French recipes to deliver an authentic crepe, makes you feel like you are a part of this festival. Since you are not flipping the crepe in the restaurant, don't forget to make your wish with your first bite.