Daily Calendar for Tuesday, February 29, 2028

Mardi Gras is French for “fat Tuesday”—the final feasting before the fasting of Lent, which begins tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. Fat Tuesday is also called Shrove Tuesday, a name that comes from the practice of shriving—purifying oneself through confession—prior to Lent. Many of the names applied to this day relate to food and eating. In many Latin countries, Mardi Gras is the culmination of the carnival season of revelry and feasting. (Carnival from the Latin carnem levare, means to take meat away.) Among the Pennsylvania Dutch, this Tuesday is Fastnacht (fast night), and everyone enjoys the traditional fastnachtkuchen, a rectangular doughnut with a slit in the middle. For the English, Shrove Tuesday is also called Pancake Day, as they use up the cooking fats that are forbidden during Lent. Learn more about Mardi Gras and find great recipes including Shrove Tuesday Pancakes!

It’s a Leap Year! Here are the rules for leap year, just to set the record straight. A year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4, but century years are not leap years unless they are divisible by 400. A person born today is called a leapling. And always remember this: Leap year was ne’er a good sheep year.”

See our Leap Year page for more facts, folklore, and fun!”