Crepe Day

What the day is

Crepe Day is observed on February 2, the date of the French Chandeleur. It is the one day of the year when making crepes is close to a national obligation in France, and households work through a large batch in a single evening.

The same date is Candlemas in the Christian calendar, forty days after Christmas, and in the United States it is Groundhog Day. The overlap is not coincidental: early February marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, and several traditions cluster there.

Origin and background

The crepe's association with the date is usually explained by shape and timing. A round golden crepe resembles the sun, and early February is when returning light becomes noticeable. A more practical explanation is that it fell when the previous year's flour needed using before the new season.

The customs attached to it are specific. Tradition holds that you should flip the first crepe while holding a coin in your other hand, which is supposed to bring prosperity for the year, and in some versions the coin is wrapped in the first crepe and placed on top of a wardrobe.

Two distinct things share the name. Sweet crepes are made with wheat flour, thin and pale, and eaten with sugar, lemon, jam or chocolate. Savory galettes are made with buckwheat flour, darker and nuttier, and are the Breton specialty, typically filled with ham, cheese and egg. In Brittany the two are not interchangeable.

How to take part

• Rest the batter. An hour in the refrigerator lets the flour hydrate and produces noticeably more tender crepes.
• Accept that the first one fails. It always does, and it is calibrating the pan temperature.
• Use less batter than feels right. A crepe should be thin enough to see light through.
• Wipe the pan with butter rather than pouring it in. Too much fat makes them fry rather than set.
• Stack them on a plate over a pan of simmering water to keep the pile warm while you work through the batter.