Shrove is originally a Catholic festivity celebrated in spring time. Shrove is celebrated seven weeks before the Easter holidays. The festivities celebrated are Shrove Sunday, accompanied two days later with Shrove Tuesday. After these festivities Lent set in and continues until Easter. The Finnish word for Shrove is Laskiainen. The origin of this word is uncertain; it might be that its original form was “laskeutua paastoon” which means descending into Lent. However, it’s possible that the word comes from the Latin language where Shrove was described with two words “carne lasciare”. The combination of these two words stands for abandoning meat.

During the days of Shrove steady meat dishes are usually eaten since originally it was thought that during Lent, which started after Shrove, meat was not allowed.

Shrove buns became common during the 19th century. The Shrove buns include whipped cream and almond paste or jam. The buns are decorated with sugar grains or pieces of almond. Some eat the buns in a bowl filled with warm milk, other with a cup of coffee or tea.

Most of the coffee shops in Helsinki sell the Shrove buns. They can also be found in bakeries. One example is the Kannisto bakery that annually makes thousands of Shrove buns. Nowadays the Shrove bun season starts already in early January even though Shrove is celebrated only in March this year.

The Kannisto bakery was founded in 1914 and has become known for its handmade, high quality breads and pastries. The bakery uses traditional methods, such as sourdough baking and no additives are inserted in the dough. The Kannisto bakery relies on natural processes and ingredients. Since it wants its bread to be fresh, in contrast to many others, it still prepares and bakes its products during night time and not the previous evening or afternoon.

You can find Kannisto’s products in three shops; in Punavuori (Kankurinkatu 6), next to its bakery, on Yliopistonkatu 7 and in Lasipalatsi. In recent years, the Kannisto bakery has also achieved a strong presence in the Stockmann department stores in the capital area. In addition, a number of high quality cafés, restaurants, hotels, and markets offer its bakery products.