Today, February 13, is Pancake Day - but do you know why we eat Pancakes?

Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday so the date varies each year.

Pancake Day is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter which is a time of fasting.

We eat pancakes on this day because traditionally it was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients.

The pancake ingredients are said to symbolise the four pillars of the Christian faith: eggs for creation, flour for the human diet, salt for wholesomeness and milk for purity.

Read more: 10 great pancake hotspots for Pancake Day 2018