The history of Shrove Tuesday: why do we eat pancakes?

This is a question? They're delicious! And, as the nation faces off across the latest battleground in the PC Wars (Aunt Jemima and her boxed pancake mix), I wonder why people bother with any pancake mix. All it takes is flour, buttermilk, oil, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and a little technique to make perfect pancakes (far better than any mix ever wrought)...