In the U.S.A. you have pancakes available every day for breakfast in most of the diners I have visited, but when I was a kid we only had pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (The day before Ash Wednesday which is the start of Lent) My father learned how to make them from a Chinese cook in the Royal Navy and his were the best. This was probably the only day in the year that my father ever used the stove. Toppings were always buter, sugar and lemon juice. He would pour a little oil or lard into a hot pan to grease the pan then pour off any excess, then he would pour in the batter mix and of course toss them to turn them over, he never stuck one to the cieling or dropped one on the floor much to our dog's disapointment. The tradition of eating pancakes only on Shrove Tuesday is still upheld in out family.
Bill