Daily Calendar for February 16th, 2021
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The Old Farmer's Almanac daily calendar gives you quick reference for the significant events on any day throughout the year.
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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. Check out the Old Farmer's Almanac’s very own Shrove Tuesday Pancakes recipe (search on our Web site).
1860s
1867: Future Canadian prime minister (Sir) John A. Macdonald married Susan A. Bernard
1868: Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks founded in NYC
1880s
1900s
1930s
1950s
1960s
1970s
2000s
Died 2002: John Gardner (health, education, and welfare secretary)
Died 2004: Doris Troy (singer who wrote and sang the top 10 hit Just One Look)
2010s
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