British people are different from Brazilians. Perhaps you might have noticed. We speak English, they speak Portuguese. We live in a cold, wet climate, and they in a hot, sunny one. We spend Shrove Tuesday running pancake races, and they go crazy at the Rio carnival.
Perhaps you are wondering what Shrove Tuesday is. It is the day before Ash Wednesday. You don't understand? No comprende, as they say in Brazil. Lend me your ears, as they say in Shakespeare.
Easter is the time of year in the spring when Christians remember the death and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The forty days before Easter are called Lent. The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday; it is called that because people put ash on their foreheads as a sign of penitence, showing that they are sorry for having done wrong. It is customary to give up something you like for the forty days of Lent. Traditionally people give up meat. That is why the big party held in Brazil on the day before Lent (called Shrove Tuesday in Britain) is called carnival: carnival means goodbye to meat.
What does all this have to do with pancake races? When Lent comes, people must go about quietly, going without meat and other things they like. So, the day before Lent is a time to party and enjoy yourself. Now in Brazil when people party, they dress up in colourful clothes, they sing and dance, and they make a lot of noise. In Britain, however, we are a little shy. We celebrate in a quieter, more restrained way: we run pancake races. Not perhaps your idea of fun? Well, each to his (or her) own.
To run a pancake race, you will need two things: a pancake and a frying pan. As you run, you must throw your pancake into the air, and catch it again before it falls to the ground. It sounds easy, but it is not. Most people drop their pancake on the ground and have to stop to pick it up. Luckily you do not have to eat the pancake after the race, though you can if you want to, of course.