Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day) : 21 February

It was forbidden to eat eggs during the period of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday tomorrow [1].

The last of the eggs would often be used up in Pancakes on this day, called Shrove Tuesday. (So what did the chickens do for the next 40 days of Lent, just not lay eggs?) The tradition became so prevalent that to this day, to people with less of a sense of church history, this is known more prosaically as "Pancake Day."

Shrove Tuesday used to be what is called a "half-holiday" in England. It started at 11 am, with a church bell signalling the start. The bell was supposed to mean "it's time to come to church", but people started calling it the "pancake bell", because that was about the time to start thinking about making pancakes for lunch.

Many villages throughout Europe developed festivals around the making of pancakes. In the Midlands of the UK, some still follow the practice of giving the first pancake to their chickens, which is supposed to make them more productive in the upcoming year.

A Trans-Atlantic Pancake Race is held every year. On the American side, it's held in Liberal, Kansas, and on the other side of the pond, it's held in Olney, England. The race is held at 11:55 am in both places, which means the Kansas race is held 6 hours later that day than the English race. The English have to wait until 5:55 pm on their end for the American race to have started.

It is run by women who carry a pancake in a frying pan. Before the race starts, they have to flip it, and can't drop it from the pan during the race. The running times from both sides are compared to determine the overall winner. The Olney race is reputed to have started in 1445, lapsing only during World War II, and restarting in 1948. People in Liberal, Kansas saw this in Time magainze in 1950, and challenged Olney to a competition that has carried on ever since.

In Scarborough, Yorkshire, people assemble along the town's promenade to skip.

"Pain perdu", aka "French toast", was another way to use up eggs. Some writers in the 1600s (such as Randle Cotgrave, in his 1611 French/English Dictionary) in fact referred to shrove Tuesday as "Le jour de pain perdu" in French.

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[1] The Orthodox Church calculates the start of Lent differently, as they are on a different calendar system.
Shrove-tide is nigh at hand,

And I am come a shroving;
Pray, dame, something,
An apple or a dumpling,
Or a piece of Truckle cheese
Of your own making,
Or a piece of pancake.

"Shrove" comes from the verb "shrive", which meant hearing or making confession. Banana Pancakes Recipe; Dutch Baby Recipe; Fried Eggs with Bean and Potato Pancakes Recipe

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