We had our pancakes today (second only to crumpets in my 'Gorgeous Stuff' list).
I used to go to church to have my ashes applied. They were made from burning the palm crosses we'd been given on Palm Sunday.
I've noticed the supermarkets have large signs up saying 'Pancake Day' but not 'Shrove Tuesday'. That indicates to me that many folk now are unaware of the church calendar.
When my husband first arrived in the UK many years ago, he was astonished that we too had a Fasting period of forty days. But he fell over laughing when I explained what it entailed - giving up chocolate or sweets perhaps. He foolishly imagined it was the same as Ramadan.
Now Ramadan IS a fast! Nothing passes the lips after the very start of dawn until night falls. Not even water. Even toiling in 40 degrees of heat, nothing to drink all day long. People in his home city often collapse and some even die from dehydration. I can't be brought to believe that God wants us to do that!