National Pancake Day: Flip out over free flapjacks at IHOP

Ready to flip out?

IHOP will once again be serving up free short stacks of buttermilk pancakes on Tuesday in honor of National Pancake Day.

Hungry breakfast lovers can stop by participating IHOP restaurants in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico for three flapjacks until 10 p.m.

There’s a limit of one dish per person, and IHOP is encouraging its customers to donate to the Children's Miracle Network Hospital or other designated local charities in return for the free pancakes.
IHOP is encouraging customers who didn’t have to pay for their pancakes to donate the money to charity.

The restaurant chain has raised $13 million for charity since it started its National Pancake Day celebrations in 2006, according to its website.

The tradition of eating pancakes on the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent and is also called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, has been around for centuries.

Christians in the UK and Ireland refer to it as “Shrove Tuesday,” but it has earned the nickname “Pancake Day” or “Pancake Tuesday” over the years.

But why pancakes? The delicious breakfast food became a Fat Tuesday favorite because they are the perfect way to use up the eggs, fats and milk in the house before you embark on the 40 days of Lenten fasting before Easter.

Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/ihop-giving-free-flapjacks-national-pancake-day-article-1.1710316