A small toggle was carved from a piece of birch or other hardwood earlier in the day.

Then a small piece of the puddings made from flour, a piece of salt meat and a cube of bread would be pushed on to the toggle and hung over the outside door-facing. This being accomplished with all due respect, the family was allowed to begin eating.

After dinner the father and older members of the family sat back and chatted at will, while the mother and female members cleaned the dishes and put the kitchen to rights.

Pancakes were always the supper dish for Shrove Tuesday. Although every pancake was consumed, the meal was more of a lark for the youngsters. The recipe was no different from any pancake mixture except for the addition of symbols that were thrown into it.

It was a type of fortune telling to tell what you'd be when you grew up, and each contribution had its own particular meaning. A portion of the batter was used for this and only one item was put into each pancake so that none of the children could get more than his share of fortune telling.

The meaning of each item was as follows:

ring — husband or wife
straw — farmer
match — boatbuilder
nail — carpenter
button — bachelor or old maid
medal — a priest or nun
money — rich man or woman
linen — tailor or seamstress

It sounds like a hazard to have such things hidden in your supper, but as far as I can recall, no one in St. Leonard's ever choked on a nail or swallowed a ring.