What kind of holiday is Maslenitsa? History, traditions, modern Maslenitsa. Maslenitsa: the history and traditions of the holiday

Shrovetide is one of the most fun and long-awaited holidays of the year, the celebration of which lasts for seven days. At this time, people have fun, go to visit, arrange festivities and eat pancakes. Maslenitsa in 2018 will begin on February 12, and its end date will be February 18.

Pancake week is a national celebration dedicated to the meeting of spring. Before entering Great Lent, people say goodbye to winter, enjoy the warm spring days, and, of course, bake delicious pancakes.

Maslenitsa: traditions and customs

There are several names for this holiday:

• the meat-empty Maslenitsa is called due to the fact that during the celebration they refrain from eating meat;
• cheese - because this week they eat a lot of cheese;
• Shrovetide - because they use a large amount of oil.

Many people are anxiously awaiting the onset of Maslenitsa, the traditions of celebrating which are rooted deep into our history. Today, as in the old days, this holiday is celebrated on a grand scale, with chants, dances and competitions.

The most popular amusements that used to be arranged in the villages were:

• fist fights;
• eating pancakes for a while;
• sledding;
• climbing a pole for a prize;
• bear games;
• effigy burning;
• bathing in holes.

The main treat both before and now are pancakes, which can have various fillings. They are baked every day in large quantities.

Our ancestors believed that those who do not have fun on Maslenitsa will live the coming year poorly and bleakly.

Maslenitsa: what can and cannot be done?

1. On Maslenitsa you can not eat meat food. It is allowed to eat fish and dairy products. As a main dish, pancakes should be on the table in every house.
2. You need to eat on Maslenitsa often and a lot. Therefore, it is customary to invite guests and not skimp on treats, as well as to go on a visit.

Maslenitsa: the history of the holiday

In fact, Maslenitsa is a pagan holiday, which was eventually changed to the "format" of the Orthodox Church. In pre-Christian Rus', the celebration was called "Seeing off the winter."

Our ancestors revered the sun as a god. And with the onset of the first spring days, they were glad that the sun was starting to warm the earth. Therefore, a tradition appeared to bake round cakes resembling the sun in shape. It was believed that by eating such a dish, a person would receive a piece of sunlight and heat. Over time, flat cakes were replaced with pancakes.

Maslenitsa: traditions of celebration

In the first three days of the holiday, there was an active preparation for the celebration:

• brought firewood for the fire;
• decorated the huts;
• built mountains.

The main celebration took place from Thursday to Sunday. They came into the house in order to treat themselves to pancakes and drink hot tea.

In some villages, young people went from house to house with tambourines, horns, balalaikas, singing carols. City residents participated in the festivities:

• dressed in the best clothes;
• went to theatrical performances;
• visited booths to look at buffoons and have fun with a bear.

The main entertainment was the ride of children and youth from the ice slides, which they tried to decorate with lanterns and flags. Used for riding:

• matting;
• sled;
• skates;
• skins;
• ice cubes;
• wooden troughs.

Another fun event was the capture of the ice fortress. The guys built a snow town with gates, they planted guards there, and then went on the attack: they broke into the gates and climbed onto the walls. The besieged defended themselves as best they could: snowballs, brooms and whips were used.

On Maslenitsa, guys and young men showed their agility in fisticuffs. The inhabitants of two villages, landlord and monastic peasants, residents of a large village living in opposite ends could participate in the battles.

Seriously prepared for the battle:

• soared in the baths;
• ate well;
• turned to the sorcerers with a request to give a special conspiracy to win.

Features of the rite of burning an effigy of winter on Maslenitsa

As many years ago, today the culmination of Maslenitsa is considered to be the burning of an effigy. This action symbolizes the onset of spring and the end of winter. The burning is preceded by games, round dances, songs and dances, accompanied by refreshments.

As a stuffed animal, which is sacrificed, they made a large funny and at the same time scary doll, personifying Shrovetide. They made a doll out of rags and straw. After that, she was dressed up in women's clothes and left on the main street of the village during the Maslenitsa week. And on Sunday they were solemnly carried outside the village. There, the scarecrow was burned, drowned in the hole, or torn to pieces, and the straw left from it was scattered across the field.

The ritual burning of the doll had a deep meaning: it is necessary to destroy the symbol of winter in order to resurrect its power in the spring.

Maslenitsa: the meaning of every day

The holiday is celebrated from Monday to Sunday. On Shrove Week, it is customary to spend every day in its own way, observing the traditions of our ancestors:

1. Monday called "Meeting Maslenitsa". On this day they start baking pancakes. It is customary to give the first pancake to the poor and needy people. On Monday, our ancestors prepared a scarecrow, dressed it in rags and put it on the main street of the village. It was on public display until Sunday.
2. Tuesday nicknamed "The Gamble". It was dedicated to the youth. On this day, folk festivals were organized: they rode sledges, ice slides, carousels.
3. Wednesday- "Gourmet". On this day, guests (friends, relatives, neighbors) were invited to the house. They were treated to pancakes, honey cakes and pies. Also on Wednesday it was customary to treat your sons-in-law with pancakes, hence the expression: “ My son-in-law came, where can I get sour cream?". Horse racing and fist fights were also held on this day.
4. Thursday people called it "Razgulyay". From this day begins the Wide Shrovetide, which is accompanied by snowball fights, sledding, cheerful round dances and chants.
5. Friday They were nicknamed "Teschin's Evenings", because on this day the sons-in-law invited the mother-in-law to their house and treated them to delicious pancakes.
6. Saturday- "Zolovkin gatherings." The daughter-in-law invited her husband's sisters to their house, talked with them, treated them to pancakes and gave gifts.
7. Sunday- the apotheosis of Maslenitsa. This day was called "Forgiveness Sunday". On Sunday they said goodbye to winter, saw off Maslenitsa and symbolically burned its effigy. On this day, it is customary to ask friends and relatives for forgiveness for the grievances that have accumulated over the year.

Having rested after the Christmas festivities, the Orthodox are looking forward to the end of February. During this period, a new wonderful occasion for fun appears - Maslenitsa. Have you already remembered delicious lace pancakes and Forgiveness Sunday? But this is not enough. Eating baked goods isn't the only way to celebrate tradition and have fun.

Maslenitsa: the origin of the holiday

Like many other customs, this one appeared long before the baptism of Rus'. In ancient times, grain growers tried to propitiate higher powers in order to get a good harvest. Maslenitsa, which is also called Maslenitsa and Pancake, used to fall on the spring equinox, that moment in the year when warming was about to begin. Therefore, the Proto-Slavs laid several meanings on the holiday at once.

Firstly, it is the boundary separating winter from spring, frost from heat. After honoring nature, they expected well-established clear spring days. And since future harvests depended on the weather, the second meaning of the celebration follows from here.

Maslenitsa was identified with mother earth. The rituals were accompanied by generous offerings, so that in return the gifts would be favorably returned a hundredfold.

Thirdly, there was an opinion: you live on the earth and use it, you are obliged to pay so as not to anger nature and the elements. And again we return to the offerings and ceremonies of honoring, in which people expressed gratitude for the past and future mercy, the possibility of procreation, that is, the birth of children who will also use resources.

Our ancestors believed that the dead, buried in the earth, and souls in the next world, influence future harvests. That's why we tried to please them. For this purpose, sacrifices, mourning cries and meals were arranged. It was believed that during the commemoration, the souls of dead relatives descend to the living and participate in the celebration.

Sign:
you will be stingy on Maslenitsa, you will quickly go bankrupt. So, gentlemen, we are preparing a treat.

The Christian church, trying to drive the flock away from pagan traditions, put a different meaning into the celebration. Few were able to remember and pass on to future generations ancient traditions and rituals. Gradually, they began to be considered blasphemy, unacceptable for true believers.

In the modern Orthodox calendar, Maslenitsa is mentioned in the context of a continuous cheese week (the last week before the long Great Lent), the holiday is considered a national church holiday.

Previously, the monks for almost the entire period of the forty-day abstinence went one by one to deserted places and returned to the last six days before. In order to endure a long time with virtually no food for the whole week before the test, they gained strength, ate fast, canceling the fast.

Knowing that not everyone will endure and return, on the eve of leaving they spoke warm words to each other and asked for forgiveness for sins. Thus a new tradition was born. The last day of cheese week is called Forgiveness Sunday.

For the laity, who did not have to lead an ascetic life, Cheese Week was given a slightly different meaning. This is a smooth transition to a forty-day refusal of full nutrition, which, by the way, is approved by doctors. In the last week before fasting, it is no longer possible to eat meat, but it is allowed to indulge in copious amounts of pastries and dairy products. And so that the people would not just glutton, funny occasions were invented: “Razgulyay”, “Gourmet”, “Teschin's evenings”, “Answers”. Each day has a name, a set of rules and a special menu.

How Maslenitsa was celebrated: traditions and rituals

Pastries, milk, eggs, no doubt, give strength, but the explanation for the special attention to these products is simpler. After a cold winter, when there are practically no supplies left, and a long wait for a new crop, livestock products are the most affordable option. It is unreasonable to slaughter livestock during this period, cows, pigs, horses weaken and lose weight, there is little meat in them.

Another name for Maslenitsa - Kolodiy - refers to another ancient custom. At the beginning of the week, women took a stick, which they called a block, and dressed it up, imagining that it was a living person. Each of the next seven days symbolized a certain stage of life:

• Monday - birth;
• Tuesday - baptism;
• for Wednesday, the scarecrow overcame childhood, youth, middle age and old age;
• on Thursday the stick was dying;
• buried on Friday;
• on Saturday - mourned;
• on Sunday the main moment came: armed with a block, the merry fellows went around unmarried boys, girls and their parents, trying to tie a shameful sign to them. No one wanted to be left with the label of bachelorhood, they paid off with what they could: beads and ribbons, moonshine and liqueurs, sweets.

Marriage at the end of February was considered a good sign; such a marriage meant mutual understanding and prosperity. Alas, only fans of the ethnic group remember this cheerful custom; in the villages it has not been observed for a long time.

Shrovetide week was also called "Babskaya". These days, much attention was paid to the weaker sex: they praised the purity and innocence of young girls, the care and love of mothers.

The symbol of modern Maslenitsa is a pancake. Some sources claim that it displays the sun, others identify it with funeral bread.

Sign:
thin first pancake - a prosperous life, good luck.

However, our ancestors made logical associations:

circular shape - eternity;
warmth - worldly joys;
milk, eggs and flour in the composition - life.

Advice:
If you are on a gluten-free diet, then pancakes are for you.

On the first day of the holiday, pancakes were left for the souls of the dead or given to the poor, who were supposed to commemorate the dead.

Another tradition from the past is to hold fisticuffs on Maslenitsa. Previously, such entertainment ended in bloodshed. But that is what they were trying to achieve. Well done could show daring, and blood was considered an offering to the dead and to the gods.

Nowadays, if there are fights, then they are comic. As a rule, they are replaced by other fun pastimes: downhill or sleigh rides, friendly communication and general treats.

RUSSIAN MASLENITSA

At the end of the festival, it is customary to burn an effigy. Today, this symbolizes the departure of winter, and among the pagans, the rite was a sacrifice to the gods, the dead and nature itself. Vesnyanki, which were performed by young girls, called on mother earth to hear people, bestow them with kindness and a generous harvest.

Custom:
in the cheese week, give your child a pipe-whistle, playing on it, the baby will call the birds.

As you can see, Maslenitsa is not just a day of pancakes and fun. It has a deeper meaning, identifies birth and departure, gratitude for the passed stages of life and hope for the future, darkness and light, cold and heat, winter and spring, past and future.

The history of Maslenitsa is rooted deep in antiquity. Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday that we inherited from pagan culture, which has survived even after the adoption of Christianity. It is believed that initially it was associated with the day of the spring solstice, but with the adoption of Christianity, it began to precede Great Lent and depend on its timing.

In ancient times, the New Year (agricultural) began with the spring equinox - the night from 21 to 22 March. The rites of Maslenitsa, "the only major pre-Christian holiday that was not timed to coincide with a Christian holiday and did not receive a new interpretation," are timed to coincide with this time. The antiquity of the Maslenitsa rites is confirmed by the fact that this holiday (in one form or another) has been preserved among many Indo-European peoples.

So, in Switzerland Maslenitsa is associated with dressing up. These are, first of all, frightening masks, the origin of which was associated with ancient beliefs. These include "smoke", "colorful", "shaggy", or "coming out of the chimney" (in legends, spirits penetrated through the chimney). For the holiday, painted wooden masks with bared teeth and tufts of wool and fur were made, which made a terrible impression. The appearance of the mummers on the street was preceded by the ringing of bells hanging from their belts. The mummers held in their hands long sticks with sacks of ash and soot attached to them. The sounds they made were like roars, growls, or grunts. According to the Swiss ethnographers R. Weiss, K. Hansemann and K. Meili, in ancient times these masks served as the embodiment of the dead, were associated with the cult of ancestors and belonged to male unions. The mummers smeared the oncoming ones with soot or doused them with water - actions associated in the past with the magic of fertility.

In Poland, the mummers dressed in turned-out jackets, led the "turon" and "goat" around the yards. They also smeared their faces with soot.

In Czechoslovakia, carnival processions of mummers were common. In Slovakia, this procession was led by "Turon". The mummers smeared passers-by with soot and sprinkled with ashes.

In Yugoslavia, mummers dressed in sheepskin clothes, with fur outside, "decorated" with prickly branches, animal tails, and bells. Masks were made of leather, wood, and even metal. Among zoomorphic masks, masks with horns are especially widespread. Moreover, masks and bells were inherited from father to son.

In the Netherlands, on Maslenitsa, farmers collect unbroken horses. They are carefully cleaned, bright paper flowers are woven into their manes and tails. Then the participants of the holiday sit on horses and gallop to the seashore, and the horse must definitely wet its feet.

In Germany, dressed boys and girls harnessed themselves to a plow and walked with it through all the alleys of the city. In Munich, during the transfer of apprentice butchers on Butter Monday, the apprentices were dressed in sheepskin trimmed with calf's tails. They tried to sprinkle water from the fountain on everyone standing around. The former meaning of these actions is a fertility spell. The number of oil-dressing mummers often included a married couple or a bride and groom, and earlier elements of the wedding ceremony were also included. (Celibacy among the people was often perceived as a vice that could affect the fertility of the soil). Lusatians in oil dances believed that they had to dance briskly, jump high so that the flax was born tall. In Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, after a butter dinner, when the whole family gathered together, they hung a boiled egg over the table on a string and swung it in a circle: each of those present tried to touch it with their lips or teeth. They believed that this "custom contributed to a good harvest, an increase in the number of livestock and poultry. In Slovenia, on Maslenitsa, everyone, both old and young, had to dance and jump so that the turnip was born well, and the higher the dancers jumped, the more abundant the harvest was For the same purpose, the mummers danced and jumped in. It was believed that swinging on a swing, on ropes woven from plants, or directly on tree branches, also contributes to the fertility of the earth, the health of people and the fight against evil power.

In a number of places in Slovenia, the dishes that were in use on the last day of Maslenitsa were not washed, but sowed from them during sowing - they believed that this would bring a rich harvest. And finally, in Bulgaria, during the cheese week, they swung on a swing, which, according to legend, brought health. During the entire cheese week, the guys and girls went out of the village in the dark, sat down on some flat place, turning to the east, and sang songs. Then they led a round dance and continued to sing love songs. The popular explanation of the custom is "for fertility and health."

All these facts testify to the fact that Shrovetide, as a holiday of the beginning of the year - spring, developed back in the general Indo-European period, no later than the turn of the 4th - 3rd millennium BC. This is evidenced not only by the traditions of the European peoples, preserved to this day, but also by the traditions of India, which came from ancient times.

In ancient Indian rituals, many elements of Maslenitsa (and subsequent Easter) can be traced in one of the brightest holidays at the border of winter and spring - Holi, which was celebrated in February-March (the end of the cold season). N. R. Guseva emphasizes that "all the ritual actions of the holiday are inseparable from the magic of fertility and historically date back to the pre-Indian period of the life of the Aryans. Ritual and magical manifestations associated with the spring equinox are of a nature extremely close to Easter, going directly to paganism, which is passed into the Easter ritual of the Slavic peoples. As an example of such common rites of Easter and Holi, N. R. Guseva cites the custom of dyeing eggs red among the Slavs and pouring paint over each other among the Indians. Moreover: "for both those and others, the red color is necessarily used as the color of the reproduction of people and animals, and this is one of the clearest remnants of the magic of fertility." In addition to Easter elements, the Indian holiday of Holi contains a large number of ritual actions characteristic of the East Slavic Maslenitsa. This is a whole series of behavioral manifestations that, apparently, developed in the deepest antiquity: singing obscene songs of erotic content, performing fertility dances, drinking alcoholic beverages, preparing ritual food from dough and cottage cheese. In India, during the Holi festival, an effigy of Holiki, which is made from straw, is burned. For the fire, brushwood, straw, old things, cow dung are collected. The fire is set on fire with the fire that everyone brings from home, and everyone dances around it.

But, according to Russian tradition, obscene songs full of erotic allusions were allowed to be sung on Maslenitsa. V. K. Sokolova writes: “at the farewell to Maslenitsa on the Tavda River, the main stewards stripped naked and pretended to bathe in a bathhouse. that were exposed even in severe frosts, and this was not done by boys, not inveterate mischievous people, but by elderly respected people. In the Russian North, on Maslenitsa, as in India during the Holi holiday, bonfires were lit. Moreover, the material for the fire was hay, straw, old things. In the Belozersky district of the Novgorod province, girls tried to get hay and straw secretly, stealing from their neighbors. Here, cow dung was not added to the fire, but they were smeared with it on the bottom of the baskets and the lower part of the wooden dice, on which they rolled down from the icy mountains. The effigy of Maslenitsa, like Holiki, was made of straw and burned. In the Vologda province, such a rite was common in Kadnikovsky, Vologda, Kubensky and Nikolsky counties. On Maslenitsa, mummers in the Vologda province often poured ashes and ashes on the floor of the hut and danced on them, and also smeared with soot and sprinkled ashes and ashes on all participants in the ceremony. In Indian tradition, there is a custom during Holi to take a handful of ashes from a fire, sprinkle them on the floor in the house and throw a pinch of ashes at each other.

Ritual actions on Maslenitsa in the Russian North were varied. So V. K. Sokolova, in connection with the farewell to Maslenitsa, notes the following main points:

Ignition of fires;
Seeing - funeral;
Customs associated with newlyweds;
Horseback riding and from the icy mountains;
Festive meal - pancakes;
Remembrance of deceased parents.

1. Ignition of fires. Some reports say that the material for the fire had to be stolen. It is possible that this is a very ancient relic - to secretly collect everything for the sacred fires (this custom was observed when collecting materials for the Kupala bonfires of Ukrainians and Belarusians). The material for the fires was brought to the steam field, to a hill, and a fire was lit at dusk. Under the influence of the custom to steal material for a fire, they began to steal logs for an ice slide - "coils". This was done in the village of Kokshenga, Nikolsky district, Vologda province.

2. Seeing - funeral. Maslenitsa is a holiday associated with the commemoration of the dead. Fist fights that are arranged on Maslenitsa are also one of the elements of the funeral rite. Bonfires that are burned on Shrove Tuesday (from straw and old things) were also associated with the cult of ancestors in ancient times, since it was believed that ritually a person had to die on straw. Among the characters of Maslenitsa (as well as Christmas time) there were necessarily: ancestors ("old men", "dead"), strangers ("beggars"). It was they who "buried the dead", which was portrayed by one of the men. All the girls were forced to kiss him on the lips. This funeral was very often expressed in the most sophisticated "street" abuse, which was ritual and, as it was believed, contributed to fertility. The mummers dressed up in torn clothes, rags, in turned-out fur coats, attached humps ("old men"), covered themselves with a canopy ("horse"), smeared with coal, soot. Arriving at the hut, they danced silently or imitated the howling, the sound of musical instruments with their voices. The mummers could ride around the village on a broom, on grips.

3. Customs associated with the newlyweds. D.K. Zelenin believed that some elements of the Maslenitsa rites "indicate that this holiday once coincided with the end of the wedding period. On the one hand, they contain the greatness of the young who got married during the last year, on the other - punishment for those who failed to take advantage of the wedding period that had just ended." He noted that Vyunishnik, that is, singing songs congratulating the newlyweds, in some places also falls on Maslenitsa. One of the most common in the XIX - early XX century. customs - riding the newlyweds from the mountain on a sled "rolling". The skiing of young people from the icy mountains has been especially stable in the Russian North (Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Olonets provinces). This skating was given special importance here. The young woman, as a rule, having climbed the mountain, bowed low three times and, sitting on her husband's knees, kissed him. Having rolled down the mountain, the young woman kissed her husband again. It was believed that for the fertility of the young, it was necessary to plant them directly on the snow, everyone who rolled down the mountain fell on them, they were buried in a snowdrift. In this ceremony, the newlyweds were clearly demonstrated the truth: "To live life is not to cross a field." Riding from the mountains in ancient times was attributed magical significance. Until the beginning of the 20th century, in many regions of Russia, they continued to ride from the mountains on spinning wheels (or bottoms of spinning wheels) "for a long flax." So in the Kubensky district, married women also rode from the mountains.

4. This circle of rituals also includes horseback riding, which was decorated with ribbons, painted arcs, and expensive bells. Sledges were traditionally covered with sheepskins with fur on the outside, which were also considered to stimulate fertility.

5. Festive meal - pancakes. V. K. Sokolova writes: “Some researchers saw in pancakes an echo of a solar cult - a sign of the resurrecting sun. But this opinion has no serious grounds. Pancakes are, indeed, ritual food, but they were not directly connected with Maslenitsa and with the sun, but with the cult of ancestors, which was included as an integral element in the Shrovetide rite. The Saturday before Maslenitsa was celebrated as a parental one. On this day they baked pancakes (they started baking). In some villages, the first pancake was placed on the shrine - "to the parents", this pancake was smeared with honey, cow's butter and sprinkled with sugar. Sometimes the first pancake was carried to the churchyard and placed on the grave. It must be remembered that pancakes are an obligatory food at funerals and when commemorating the souls of the dead. Moreover, pancakes became a sign of Maslenitsa only among Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians did not have this. In connection with ceremonial pancakes, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the inhabitants of the mountains of Afghanistan - the Kalash, who are considered the heirs of "the oldest pre-Vedic ideology of the first Indo-European immigrants on the subcontinent", during the holiday "chaumos" (an analogue of the Russian Maslenitsa) bake three cakes, meant for the souls of the dead. And here it is worth recalling the text of the Mahabharata, which tells the ancient myth about how the sacrifice to the ancestors appeared and why the ancestors are called "pinda", that is, cakes. This myth says that when "the earth, surrounded by the ocean, once disappeared," the Creator raised it, taking the form of a boar-boar. (Recall that one of the Christian saints who replaced the ancient god Veles-Troyan was named Basil and was the patron of pig breeding). So, having raised the primary matter from the depths of the cosmic ocean, the Creator saw that three clods of earth were stuck to his fangs. Of these, he made three cakes and uttered the following words:

"I am the creator of the world, I raised myself to produce ancestors.
Thinking about the highest law of the rite of sacrifice, to the ancestors,
Taking out the earth, I threw these cakes from my fangs to the south side,
From them came the ancestors.
These three cakes are formless, may the eternal ancestors created by me in the world be also formless.
As a father, grandfather and great-grandfather let me know
Residing here in three loaves. Singer, such is his charter that the ancestors are known as cakes.
And according to the word of the Creator, they constantly receive worship."

6. Commemoration of deceased parents. The preparation of ritual food - pancakes is directly related to the commemoration of deceased parents. More P.V. Schein in the 19th century emphasized that peasants considered "as if a reliable way of communication with the other world is the custom of baking pancakes." This is an obligatory meal of funerals, commemoration, weddings, Christmas time and Maslenitsa, that is, days, in one way or another, associated with the worship of ancestors. VC. Sokolova notes that: "In the first half of the 19th century, the custom of giving the first pancake to deceased parents or remembering them with pancakes, apparently, was widespread." Probably, here we have an echo of the ancient myth given above, according to which the first ancestors arose from three clods of earth, turned into cakes by the Creator. Thus, the first pancake, apparently, is a symbol of the coma of the earth and great-grandfather, that is, the Creator or Santa Claus.

Therefore, the ritual feeding of pancakes is the prerogative of Santa Claus and the days associated with his ritual veneration. Since Maslenitsa was associated with the commemoration of deceased relatives and was characterized by ritual excesses of mummers, there is nothing surprising in the fact that until the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. some archaic elements of the behavior of mummers were preserved in domestic rituals. It has already been noted earlier that the mummers "sorcerers" could ride naked on a stick, broom, poker. But at the turn of the century in the Totemsky district there was a custom in which naked women went around the house three times before sunrise on a stick (to survive bedbugs and cockroaches). And in the Cherepovets district, each owner of the house was obliged to "go round the hut in the morning on a broomstick, so that no one would see, and there would be all sorts of good things in the house for a whole year."

As a holiday associated with the cult of ancestors, givers of fertility, Maslenitsa in ancient times lasted not 8 days, but 14, that is, it marked the day of the ancestors (the day of the ancestors - 28 days or the lunar month), who returned to the world of the living to help their descendants. The fact that Maslenitsa lasted 14 days is evidenced by the message of one of the foreigners who visited Russia in 1698. He wrote that "Shrovetide reminds me of the Italian carnival, which starts at the same time and in the same way." Coming to the world of the living just for a day from their world, the "parents", led by Troyan, not only increase the life-giving power of the Earth, but also acquire new powers themselves. After all, pancakes, oatmeal jelly, honey, colored eggs, milk, cottage cheese, cereals are food not only for the living, but also for the ancestors who came to visit them on Maslenitsa. Eating a ritual meal, Santa Claus turns from the lord of cold and night into the Lord of spring and morning of the year - Troyan. He has yet to show again all three of his faces: youth - spring - creation; summer - maturity - preservation; winter - old age - destruction, and hence the possibility of a new creation.

Based on the foregoing, all Maslenitsa events should not go beyond tradition, these are:
Ritual evening or night bonfires made of straw on hills, fields or poles (bonfires in the form of a "Segner wheel" are possible);
Swinging on Russian swings, flip boards, fisticuffs;
Horse riding and sleigh rides;
Riding from the icy mountains on the bottoms of spinning wheels, on spinning wheels, in baskets, on wooden dice, swinging on Russian swings;
Treats: pancakes, oatmeal jelly, beer, honey, cottage cheese, milk, cereals (oatmeal, barley, wheat);
Ritual detours of mummers.

Maslenitsa carnival characters:

Ancestors - "old men", "dead man", "tall old women".
Strangers - "beggars", "hunter", "devil" (all black with horns).
Young - "bride and groom", "pregnant woman".
Animals - "Bull", "Cow", "Horse", "Goat", "Elk", "Bear", "Dogs", "Wolves".
Birds - "Goose", "Gander", "Crane", "Duck", "Chicken".

The mummers "baked pancakes", "churned butter", "threshed peas", "grind flour", "measured straw". They "married the young", "buried the dead". "Grandfathers" put the girls on the knees of the guys, "married them." Those girls who did not obey them, "grandfathers" beat with brooms, forced to kiss themselves. Everyone was doused with water.

Such is this ancient holiday Shrovetide.

According to its custom, the church "appointed" its own place of the pagan holiday, specifically shifting the boundaries of Lent for this. After that, Maslenitsa was perceived by the Christian church as a de facto religious holiday and was called Cheese Week, or Cheese Week, but this did not change its inner essence. The 19th-century ethnographer I. M. Snegirev believed that Maslenitsa in pagan times accompanied celebrations in honor of the pagan god Veles, the patron saint of cattle breeding and agriculture, which fell on February 24 according to the new style.

For the Slavs, this holiday has long been a meeting of the new year! Indeed, until the XIV century, the year in Rus' began in March. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: as a person meets the year, so he will be. That is why the Russians did not skimp on this holiday for a generous feast and unbridled fun. And the people called Maslenitsa "honest", "wide", "gluttonous", and even "the ruiner". And the very name "Maslenitsa" arose only in the 16th century. It arose because this week, according to Orthodox custom, meat is already excluded from food, and dairy products can still be consumed - that's why butter pancakes are baked.

Shrovetide is a holiday not only for the Slavs, but for almost all of Europe. The tradition of celebrating the arrival of spring has been preserved in different cities and countries, from Siberia to Spain. In the countries of Western Europe, Maslenitsa smoothly turns into a nationwide carnival, where quarrels and disputes fall silent during the celebration, unbridled fun, laughter and humor reign everywhere.

In Scotland, it was customary to bake “lean cakes” on Shrovetide. A handful of oatmeal was poured into the palms folded together, then the flour was tightly squeezed in the palms and immersed in cold water, and the resulting ball was baked in the hearth right in the hot ash. The Scots consider baking pancakes an important act in which all family members try to take part: one greases the pan with oil, another pours dough on it, the third turns the pancake over ...

In one of the cities of England, competitions in the running of women with pancakes have been held for many years. At 11:45 a.m. the “pancake bell” rings. Every woman runs with a hot frying pan and a pancake. Competition rules dictate that competitors must be at least 18 years of age; each one must have an apron and a scarf; while running, you need to throw a pancake in the pan at least three times and catch it. The first woman to pass a pancake to the bell ringer becomes the pancake race champion for a year and is rewarded with... a bell ringer's kiss.

Theatrical performances and concerts are held in Danish schools these days. Schoolchildren exchange signs of friendship, send humorous letters to their friends through acquaintances without indicating a return address. If a boy receives such a letter from a girl and guesses her name, then on Easter she will give him chocolate.

If the main characters of the Russian Maslenitsa were newlyweds, then in Eastern Europe they were bachelors. Beware, bachelors, Maslenitsa. Especially if you accidentally find yourself in Poland at this time. Proud Poles, having lulled your vigilance with pancakes, donuts, brushwood and vodka, will certainly pull you by the hair for dessert. On the last day of Maslenitsa, you can go to a tavern where a violinist will "sell" unmarried girls.

And in the Czech Republic, on these cheerful days, young guys with soot-smeared faces go around the whole village to the music, carrying a decorated wooden block - "klatik" behind them. It is hung around the neck of every girl or tied to an arm or leg. If you want to pay off - pay.

In Yugoslavia, you will certainly be put in a pig trough and dragged through the village. And on the roof of your own house, you can find the figure of a straw grandfather.

Catherine II was very fond of skiing from the mountain, carousels, swings, they were arranged in Moscow at the Pokrovsky Palace, where the Empress liked to go to Maslenitsa with the whole court. And on the occasion of her coronation, imitating Peter I, she staged a grandiose masquerade procession called "Triumphant Minerva" in Moscow during Shrovetide Week. For three days, a masquerade procession traveled around the city, which, according to the plan of the empress, was supposed to represent various social vices - bribery, embezzlement, bureaucratic red tape and others, destroyed by the beneficial rule of the wise Catherine. The procession consisted of four thousand actors and two hundred chariots.

And when Catherine II waited for the birth of her grandson Alexander, to whom she secretly intended to transfer the throne, bypassing her unloved son Paul, the empress, in joy, arranged a truly "diamond" carnival for her close ones. For those who turned out to win in the games started after dinner, the empress presented a diamond. During the evening, she gave away about 150 diamonds to her close associates, striking in their price and rare beauty.

Maslenitsa falls on the week preceding Lent. Therefore, at this time, a person withdraws his soul on the eve of a difficult and long Great Lent. Maslenitsa is, first of all, plentiful and satisfying food. Therefore, there is nothing shameful in eating at this time, tasting a wide variety of dishes and not denying yourself anything. In traditional life, it has always been believed that a person who has had a bad and boring Shrovetide week will be unlucky throughout the year. Unrestrained pancake gluttony and fun are considered as a magical harbinger of future well-being, prosperity and success in all business, household and economic endeavors. The start of Maslenitsa ranges from February 3 (i.e. January 21, old style) to March 14 (March 1, old style).

Maslenitsa is a cheerful farewell to winter, illuminated by the joyful expectation of close warmth, spring renewal of nature. Even pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Shrovetide, had a ritual meaning: round, ruddy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun, which flared up brighter, lengthening the days. Centuries passed, life changed, with the adoption of Christianity in Rus', new church holidays appeared, but the wide Maslenitsa continued to live. She was met and seen off with the same irrepressible prowess as in pagan times. Shrovetide has always been loved by the people and affectionately called “kasatochka”, “sugar lips”, “kisser”, “honest Shrovetide”, “merry”, “quail”, “perebuha”, “byedukha”, “yasochka”.

Maslenitsa is a week-long holiday, a ritual holiday with round dances, songs, dances, games, and most importantly, with a rite of praise, feeding and burning a home-made effigy of Winter. Children are told about the ritual meaning of Shrovetide calls and games, they explain why it is necessary to burn Maslenitsa, lure the Sun with pancakes, glorify Spring, and ask for a good harvest.

Shrovetide week was literally overflowing with festive affairs; ritual and non-ritual actions, traditional games and undertakings, duties and deeds filled all days to capacity. There was enough strength, energy, enthusiasm for everything, since the atmosphere of ultimate emancipation, general joy and fun reigned. Each day of Shrove Tuesday had its own name, each day was assigned certain actions, rules of conduct, etc.:

Monday - meeting
tuesday - "play"
Wednesday - "gourmet", "revelry", "fracture",
Thursday - "walk around-four", "wide",
Friday - “Teschinas of the evening”, “Teschins of the evening”,
Saturday - "sister-in-law gatherings", "seeing off",
Sunday is "forgiveness day".

The whole week was called "honest, wide, cheerful, noblewoman-carnival, madam carnival."

Monday - meeting
On this day, an effigy of Maslenitsa was made from straw, they put on old women's clothes on it, put this effigy on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh through the village. Then Maslenitsa was set on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began. The songs that are sung on the day of the "meeting" are very cheerful.

Tuesday - play
From that day on, various kinds of entertainment began: sleigh rides, folk festivals, performances. In large wooden booths (rooms for folk theatrical performances with clowning and comic scenes), performances were given led by Petrushka and Shrovetide grandfather. On the streets there were large groups of mummers, in masks, driving around familiar houses, where merry home concerts were impromptu. Large companies rode around the city, on troikas and on simple sledges. Another simple entertainment was also held in high esteem - skiing from icy mountains.

Wednesday - gourmet
She opened treats in all houses with pancakes and other dishes. In each family, tables were set with delicious food, pancakes were baked, in the villages they brewed beer together. Theaters and trade tents appeared everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (drinks made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, and honey gingerbread. Here, right under the open sky, one could drink tea from a boiling samovar.

Thursday - revelry (break, wide Thursday)
This day was the middle of games and fun. Perhaps, it was then that the hot Shrovetide fistfights took place, the fists, leading their origin from Ancient Rus'. They also had their own strict rules. It was impossible, for example, to beat a lying person (“they don’t beat a lying person”), to attack one person together (two fight - don’t go to the third), to beat below the belt or to beat on the back of the head. There were penalties for violating these rules. It was possible to fight "wall to wall" or "one on one". There were also "hunting" fights for connoisseurs, lovers of such fights. Ivan the Terrible himself watched such battles with pleasure. For such an occasion, this entertainment was prepared especially magnificently and solemnly. And yet it was a game, a holiday, which, of course, corresponded to clothing. If you also want to follow the ancient Russian rituals and customs, if your hands itch a lot, you can have a little fun, probably with a fight - all negative negative emotions will be removed at the same time, detente will come (maybe this was some kind of secret meaning of fisticuffs). fights), and at the same time it is a duel of the strongest. Just do not forget about all the restrictions and, most importantly, that this is still a festive game duel.

Friday - mother-in-law evening
A number of Maslenitsa customs were aimed at speeding up weddings and helping young people find a mate. And how much attention and honors were given to the newlyweds at Shrovetide! Tradition requires that they go out dressed “to people” in painted sleighs, pay visits to everyone who walked at their wedding, so that they solemnly roll down the ice mountain to the songs. However, the most important event associated with the newlyweds was the visit of the mother-in-law by the sons-in-law, for whom she baked pancakes and arranged a real feast (unless, of course, the son-in-law was to her liking). In some places, “Teschin pancakes” took place on gourmets, that is, on Wednesday during Shrovetide week, but could be timed to coincide with Friday. If on Wednesday the sons-in-law visited their mother-in-laws, then on Friday the sons-in-law arranged “mother-in-law evenings” and invited them to pancakes. The former boyfriend usually appeared, who played the same role as at the wedding, and received a gift for his efforts. The called mother-in-law (there was also such a custom) was obliged to send in the evening everything necessary for baking pancakes: a frying pan, a ladle, etc., and the father-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat and cow's butter. The disrespect of the son-in-law for this event was considered a dishonor and insult, and was the reason for the eternal enmity between him and the mother-in-law.

Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings
The sister-in-law is the sister of the husband. So, on this Sabbath day, young daughters-in-law hosted relatives. As you can see, at this “fat Shrovetide” every day of this generous week was accompanied by a special feast.

Sunday - seeing off, kissing, forgiveness day.
The last day of the Maslenitsa week was called “forgiveness Sunday”: relatives and friends did not go to each other to celebrate, but with “obedience”, asked for forgiveness for intentional and accidental insults and grief caused in the current year. When meeting (sometimes even with a stranger), it was supposed to stop and with triple bows and “tearful words” ask for mutual forgiveness: “Forgive me, what I am guilty of or have sinned against you.” “May God forgive you, and I forgive you,” the interlocutor answered, after which, as a sign of reconciliation, it was necessary to kiss.

Farewell to Maslenitsa ended on the first day of Great Lent - Clean Monday, which was considered the day of cleansing from sin and fast food. Men usually "rinsed their teeth", i.e. they drank vodka in abundance, ostensibly in order to rinse out the remnants of fast food from their mouths; in some places fistfights, etc., were arranged to “shake out pancakes”. On Clean Monday, they always washed in a bathhouse, and women washed dishes and “steamed” milk utensils, cleaning it from fat and the remnants of the milk.

Maslenitsa. Turning to this very beloved folk holiday, one cannot fail to note one very strange, at first glance, circumstance - after all, the original name of this holiday is completely unknown to most of us. "Maslenitsa". "Generous Carnival". "Fat Carnival". And so on. But all these names are just a statement of the presence of ritual food - pancakes and butter. And no more?

In the ancient tradition of our ancestors, the most important calendar points of the year: the winter (December 22) and summer (June 22) solstices, the spring (March 22) and autumn (September 22) equinoxes were combined into a symbolic “Cross of the Year”. This conclusion is confirmed by the data of the Vlesovaya Book, which speaks of the four most important holidays of the year: Kolyada, Yaro, Krasnaya Gora and Ovseni (Small and Great).

Kolyada, of course, is our Winter Christmas time with ritual songs - “carols” and mummers performing them - “carols”, “carolers”. The very term "Kolyada" ("striking", i.e. giving a circle) is directly related to the completion of the cycle of the divine day, when the Night of the Gods, ending on the night of December 21-22, is replaced by the New Day of the Gods, starting on December 22. The entire period of Winter Christmas time (December 19 - January 19) is dedicated to the worship of the Divine Light - the Creator of the Universe, which our ancestors called the Immutable Law or Grandfather.During this month, those who managed to find a light body ("holy"), t That is, those who have joined the Absolute Truth of the Cosmic Law Thus, Winter Christmas time is a period of worshiping the Wisdom of the Creator, summing up the results of the annual cycle and meeting the new Colo-Sun.

Yaro or Yarilin day (Kupalo) - June 22 - the summer solstice and the beginning of the Night of the Gods. We have yet to talk about it. We only note that this is a holiday of youth, those who had to find a mate and pass the test of Divine Fire for the right to enter into marriage with a chosen one or chosen one. And, having entered into marriage, fulfill the cosmic law of reincarnation, giving life to new people - children.

The next most important holiday in the list of the "Vlesovaya Book" is Krasnaya Gora, followed by Ovsen (Avsen, Usen, Tausen), i.e. festival of the autumnal equinox. But here we stop before a paradox - today's Red Mountain has nothing to do with the spring equinox. A holiday close to this calendar date - March 22, we do not have at all. However, it is known from historical sources that earlier such a ritual cycle as Shrovetide (or Shrovetide) lasted not a week, but a whole lunar month, starting on February 21 and ending on the night of March 21-22. Red Mountain today is the feast of the Easter forty days. In most cases, Red Mountain is called either Fomino Sunday (following Easter), or the first three days of St. Thomas's week (including Sunday), or the entire St. Thomas's week. The ethnographer I.P. Sakharov wrote in 1848 that “Red Mountain in Rus' is the first spring holiday. The Great Russians meet the spring here, marry the betrothed, play round dances.

Turning to Shrovetide, we can note the strange circumstance that the ancient name of this holiday was unknown to us until recently. "Generous Shrovetide, fat Shrovetide", etc. I just stated the presence of ritual food - pancakes and butter. And no more. "Vlesova Book" put everything in its place. And today we can confidently assert that the ancient sacred Red Mountain and our Maslenitsa are one and the same. This is evidenced by the fact that it was during the Oil Week that the newlyweds went to their “mother-in-law for pancakes”. The mother-in-law in the archaic tradition is not only the mother of the wife, but also the oldest woman in the house. A ritual game song (Vologda Oblast) speaks of an oak tree on which "an owl sits, she is my mother-in-law, she pastured the horses." Archaeologist E.V. Kuzmina notes that "the horse played a big role in the cult of the mother goddess." In the Indo-European tradition, the image of the goddess - the mistress of horses - was widespread. “She was represented standing between two horsemen”, personifying the opposite elements - life and death, over which the Goddess - Mother has power. Sometimes, instead of horsemen, just two horses were depicted - black and white. Note that one of the most important and colorful rites of Maslenitsa was the rite of riding around the district on horseback and in a sleigh.

It is worth remembering that in the ancient Greek tradition, in its most archaic part, Zeus (Dyaus), the head of the pantheon of gods, was personified in the form of an oak near the water (Zeus of Dodon). And his daughter, the embodiment of wisdom and sacred knowledge, Athena, came out of the head of Zeus and was called Sovooka, since her zoomorphic incarnation was an owl. The image of an owl in the Vologda ritual song is much more archaic than the ancient Greek, since here she is not a virgin - a warrior, but a foremother - a mother-in-law. Note that the owl is a nocturnal bird associated with the most ancient lunar cult, and the Foremother is the one who embodies the divine thought in the manifested world. In the Russian North, in the archaeological sites of the Mesolithic (10-7 thousand BC), there are often figures of women made of stone and bone, ending with an owl's head.

And, finally, in the ritual text associated with the preparation for the wedding, the orphan bride addresses her dead mother, calling her "My Red Beauty Mountain."

Maslenitsa is not only a festive cycle associated with the cult of the Foremother - the Red Mountain, it is also a celebration of the glorification of newlyweds who got married last year. It was for them, first of all, that ice mountains were built, from which every young couple, after a triple kiss, had to move down.

Thus, Shrovetide - the Red Mountain of the "Vlesovy Book" - is a ritual cycle dedicated to the cult of the Foremother - the maternal principle of the Universe, as well as to those who serve as a manifestation of this principle on Earth - young married couples.

From year to year, we observe the same picture: both at city and traditional Maslenitsa, during the massacre of a scarecrow, the same words about the “burning” of Winter are heard. Such an explanation is quite natural at civil events that seek to smooth out the "sharp corners" of the pagan holiday, but for Rodnovers, I consider ignoring the essence of the rite unacceptable.

It is pointless to burn Winter or her symbol, as she is indestructible. She can be rushed to leave, driven away, but she will return in due time, whether you like it or not. It is absurd to recall a dying and resurrecting deity in the situation with Winter, since myths of this type refer to Gods of fertility, to which Winter does not belong. In some places, the remains of a burnt effigy were scattered in the fields. It looks very strange if you stand in the position of burning Winter.

Modern Rodnovers call the effigy of Winter "Mara", "Morena", and on this basis declare its connection with Winter. Indeed, cold, darkness, death, white color, etc. belong to Mara. However, in the Slavic traditions, the stuffed animals burned on the spring equinox were called differently, moreover, they could be male!

How can we be with the Belarusian Shrovetide Grandfather, maybe it's Frost? Then why was he portrayed with pronounced sexual characteristics (carrots and beetroot), the same as Yarila's. It is clear that the character has nothing to do with frost and winter with such “principles”, he has nothing to do with fertility. This Grandfather is called differently in Belarus. In one of the villages - "Sidorom". Collectors of folklore guessed to ask the old-timers why Sidor? And they received the answer: “There lived a very respected grandfather, a long-liver, in our village, and when he died, the burning effigy began to be named after him” (T. Kukharonok. “Fun, fun, games.” Minsk. In Belarusian). We see that here the burning of an effigy is a symbolic funeral of a respected countryman according to the ancient rite of cremation.

Let's take another example. In the West Slavic song accompanying the burning of the Kupala effigy, it is said:

Morena, Morena, for whom did she die?
... for the old grandfather, whose teeth are rare.

The burning of effigies at the moments of the Solar phases is the sending of "messengers" to the Gods with our wishes, in particular, with a request for the speedy end of Winter. This is not an imitation of human sacrifice, but the memory of the solemn cremation of the most respected members of the family.

The question is, where did so many dead people come from during the solar phases in ancient times, because bonfires were fired in every village? There is written evidence that among the Prussian tribe, the noble dead, as they say, “waited” in the wings, that is, they were not burned immediately after death, but were stored in special places until the next solar phase. We can assume the same among the Eastern Slavs. Let me remind you that Shrovetide pancakes are not only a “symbol of the Sun”, but also the main funeral food.

Winter on Maslenitsa was chased away in the following way. They made a big Snowman and shot her with snowballs. Also, the rite of "Spring's hooting" played a great magical role in this matter.

Of course, information about such things is currently not advertised for well-known reasons, although they are not closed to the curious.

Who, if not us, should be interested in such things?

Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa called by different names, and all these names mean the same thing. Because of the abstention from meat, the name of the meat-empty came about; from eating cheese - cheese week; from the widespread use of oil - Shrovetide, which lasts a whole week before Lent. In the holy calendar and church books, the name of the cheese week is used. At this time they do not eat anything meat; fish, milk, eggs and cheese are common to all. The well-known name of this week throughout Russia is Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa- a holiday of seeing off winter, the eighth week before Easter. Maslenitsa took place before Great Lent, on the cheese week of the Orthodox calendar, and ended on Forgiveness Sunday.
According to the canons of the Orthodox Church, the cheese week was intended to prepare believers for fasting, when each of them had to be imbued with a mood corresponding to the coming time of bodily abstinence and intense spiritual reflection (see). In traditional Russian life, this week has become the brightest holiday filled with the joy of life. Maslenitsa was called an honest, wide, drunken, gluttonous, ruiner. They said that she "sang and danced for a whole week, ate and drank, visited each other, rolled in pancakes, bathed in oil." Maslenitsa was celebrated all over Russia, both in villages and cities. Its celebration was considered obligatory for all Russian people: "At least lay yourself down, but spend Shrovetide."
In the villages, all residents, regardless of age and social status, took part in it, with the exception of the sick and infirm. Non-participation in the Shrovetide fun could entail, according to legend, "life in bitter trouble." The festivities began with a Maslenitsa meeting on the Sunday before Maslenitsa. However, this rite was not widespread. Where he was famous, Shrovetide was greeted with pancakes, which were laid out on elevated places with calls: “Come to visit me, Shrovetide, in the wide yard: ride in the mountains, roll in pancakes, have fun with your heart!”, As well as singing songs : Shrovetide annual, Our dear guest! She does not come to us on foot, She comes on horseback. She has black horses, Young servants. The first three days of Shrove Tuesday were preparations for the holiday: they brought firewood for Shrovetide bonfires, cleaned the huts. The main festivities fell on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday - the days of the wide Maslenitsa. All carnival entertainment usually took place on the street.
They went into houses only to warm up a little if it was frosty, and to treat themselves to festive dishes. Smartly dressed people - girls, boys, couples, children, old men and old women - all poured out into the street, participated in the festive festivities, congratulated each other, went to the fair, where they bought necessary and unnecessary things, marveled at the miracles that were shown in booths - mobile theaters, rejoiced at puppet shows and "bear fun" - performances of the leader with a bear.
The Shrovetide complex included such entertainments as riding from the mountains, sleigh rides, various ceremonies of honoring the newlyweds, fistfights, processions of mummers, war games, such as “The Capture of the Snow Town”, etc. A characteristic feature of Shrovetide was the use a large amount of fatty foods, as well as intoxicating drinks. From drinks they preferred beer, and from food - sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, eggs, all kinds of flour products: pancakes, cheesecakes, spices, brushwood, cakes. The predominance of dairy food was due to the church ban on eating meat in the week preceding Lent.
Many songs, jokes, sentences sounded on Shrovetide, most of which had no ritual significance, these were funny songs dedicated to Shrovetide and Shrovetide festivities:
Oh, dear oiler,
Darling, lily, dear. She came to visit us
She came, she came, she came. Yes, she brought cheese with butter,
I brought it, I brought it, I brought it. And we rolled the butter dish,
They rolled, they rolled, they rolled. They rode on a black horse,
We rode, we rode, we rode.

The history of Maslenitsa is rooted deep in antiquity. Shrovetide is an ancient Slavic holiday that we inherited from pagan culture, which has survived even after the adoption of Christianity. It is believed that initially it was associated with the day of the spring solstice, but with the adoption of Christianity, it began to precede Great Lent and depend on its timing. However, this is not all about the meaning of Maslenitsa. For the Slavs, for a long time it was also a meeting of the New Year! Indeed, until the XIV century, the year in Rus' began in March. Even pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Maslenitsa, had a ritual meaning: round, ruddy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun, which flared up brighter, lengthening the days. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: as a person meets the year, so he will be. That is why our ancestors did not skimp on this holiday for a generous feast and unbridled fun. And the people called Maslenitsa "honest", "wide", "gluttonous", and even "the ruiner".
Centuries passed, life changed, with the adoption of Christianity, new church holidays appeared, but the wide Maslenitsa continued to live. Nothing could force the Russians to give up their favorite holiday - hospitable and recklessly cheerful. By the way, at one time Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich tried to calm down his daring subjects with the most stringent measures. The governors sent royal decrees around towns and villages, either forbidding private distillation, or demanding that Russians not gamble, do not hold fisticuffs. But neither the formidable royal decrees, nor the instructions of the patriarch were able to cope with overflowing fun.
But in 1724 in St. Petersburg Maslenitsa failed. Peter, a well-known lover of all kinds of amusements, intended to organize a funny sledge procession in the new capital, but a blizzard swept through the holiday week and there was a severe frost. For several days, the participants in the procession in costumes and masks gathered at the gathering place, but, having stiffened along the way, they went to warm themselves to visit someone. Alas, the element won, the fun failed.
Catherine II, on the occasion of her coronation, imitating Peter I, staged a grandiose masquerade procession called “Triumphant Minerva” in Moscow during Shrovetide Week. For three days, a masquerade procession traveled around the city, which, according to the empress's plan, was supposed to represent various social vices - bribery, embezzlement, bureaucratic red tape and others, destroyed by the beneficial rule of the wise Catherine.
Over time, "rolling fun" in the cities improved. Wooden slides with elegant pavilions began to be erected on the ice of the river or on the squares. The slides were decorated with colorful flags, spruce and pine branches, and even wooden sculptures. In St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century, the mountains of the merchant Podoznikov were famous. They were built on the Neva against the Senate and reached 26 meters in height. By the way, skiing from the city mountains at that time was paid and cost a penny. A brisk trade in hot sbiten, tea from smoking samovars, sweets, nuts, pies and pancakes unfolded near the icy mountains. The audience in large booths was amused by buffoons and the beloved folk hero Petrushka.
In villages where booths never existed, the inhabitants themselves became the protagonists of an unusual battle - the capture of a snowy town. Having gathered, they together built a fortress from the snow with intricate towers and gates. Most often they put it on the ice of the river and cut through the wormwood in the middle. Then the participants of the game were divided into two parties. The equestrian braves besieged the fortress, and its defenders fought back with snowballs, brandished twigs and brooms, frightening the horses. The winner, who burst into the gate first, was expected by a test: he was forced to swim in an ice hole.
But the most beloved and beautiful Maslenitsa ceremony was sleigh rides. Everyone who had a horse rode out, and assorted teams rushed through the streets: the rich flaunted sleek trotters and painted sleds covered with carpets, and after them galloped peasant horses, polished to a shine, decorated with colored ribbons.
Of course, pancakes were the main treat at Maslenitsa. They were baked and eaten in myriad quantities.

There were certain ceremonies for each day of Shrovetide week. On Monday - a meeting of Maslenitsa, on Tuesday - flirting. For gourmets, that is, on Wednesday of Shrove Week, mother-in-laws invited their sons-in-law and their wives to pancakes. This custom was especially observed in relation to the young, recently married. Surely this is where the expression "to the mother-in-law for pancakes" came from. The most crowded luge rides took place on Broad Thursday. On Friday - the mother-in-law's evening - the sons-in-law called the mother-in-law for a treat. Saturday was reserved for the sister-in-law gatherings. Sunday was called "Forgiveness Day". On this day, everyone visited relatives, friends and acquaintances, exchanged kisses, bows and asked for forgiveness from each other if they offended by words or deeds. The whole week was called "honest, wide, cheerful, noblewoman-carnival, madam carnival."
Monday - meeting
On this day, an effigy of Maslenitsa was made from straw, they put on old women's clothes on it, put this effigy on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh through the village. Then Maslenitsa was set on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began. The songs that are sung on the day of the "meeting" are very cheerful.
Tuesday - play
From that day on, various kinds of entertainment began: sleigh rides, folk festivals, performances. In large wooden booths (rooms for folk theatrical performances with clowning and comic scenes), performances were given led by Petrushka and Shrovetide grandfather. On the streets there were large groups of mummers, in masks, driving around familiar houses, where merry home concerts were impromptu. Large companies rode around the city, on troikas and on simple sledges. Another simple entertainment was held in high esteem - skiing from icy mountains.
Wednesday - gourmet
She opened treats in all houses with pancakes and other dishes. In each family, tables were set with delicious food, pancakes were baked, in the villages they brewed beer together. Theaters and trade tents appeared everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (drinks made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, and honey gingerbread. Here, right under the open sky, one could drink tea from a boiling samovar.
Thursday - revelry(fracture, broad Thursday)
This day was the middle of games and fun. Perhaps, it was then that the hot Shrovetide fistfights took place, the fists, leading their origin from Ancient Rus'. They also had their own strict rules. It was impossible, for example, to beat a lying person (“they don’t beat a lying person”), to attack one person together (two fight - don’t get the third one), to beat below the belt or to beat on the back of the head. There were penalties for violating these rules. It was possible to fight "wall to wall" or "one on one". There were also "hunting" fights for connoisseurs, lovers of such fights. Ivan the Terrible himself watched such battles with pleasure. For such an occasion, this entertainment was prepared especially magnificently and solemnly. And yet it was a game, a holiday, which, of course, corresponded to clothing. If you also want to follow the ancient Russian rituals and customs, if your hands itch a lot, you can have a little fun, probably with a fight - all negative negative emotions will be removed at the same time, a detente will come (maybe this was some kind of secret meaning of fisticuffs fights), and at the same time it is a duel of the strongest. Just do not forget about all the restrictions and, most importantly, that this is still a festive game duel.
Friday - mother-in-law evenings
A number of Maslenitsa customs were aimed at speeding up weddings and helping young people find a mate. And how much attention and honors were given to the newlyweds at Shrovetide! Tradition requires that they go out dressed “to people” in painted sleighs, pay visits to everyone who walked at their wedding, so that they solemnly roll down the ice mountain to the songs. However, the most important event associated with the newlyweds was the visit of the mother-in-law by the sons-in-law, for whom she baked pancakes and arranged a real feast (unless, of course, the son-in-law was to her liking). In some places, “Teschin pancakes” took place on gourmets, that is, on Wednesday during Shrovetide week, but could be timed to coincide with Friday. If on Wednesday the sons-in-law visited their mother-in-laws, then on Friday the sons-in-law arranged “mother-in-law evenings” and invited them to pancakes. The former boyfriend usually appeared, who played the same role as at the wedding, and received a gift for his efforts. The called mother-in-law (there was also such a custom) was obliged to send in the evening everything necessary for baking pancakes: a frying pan, a ladle, etc., and the father-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat and cow's butter. The disrespect of the son-in-law for this event was considered a dishonor and insult, and was the reason for the eternal enmity between him and the mother-in-law.
Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings
The sister-in-law is the sister of the husband. So, on this Sabbath day, young daughters-in-law hosted relatives. As you can see, at this “fat Shrovetide” every day of this generous week was accompanied by a special feast.
Sunday - seeing off, a kisser, a forgiveness day.
The last day of the Maslenitsa week was called “forgiveness Sunday”: relatives and friends did not go to each other to celebrate, but with “obedience”, asked for forgiveness for intentional and accidental insults and grief caused in the current year. When meeting (sometimes even with a stranger), it was supposed to stop and with triple bows and “tearful words” ask for mutual forgiveness: “Forgive me, what I am guilty of or have sinned against you.” “May God forgive you, and I forgive you,” the interlocutor answered, after which, as a sign of reconciliation, it was necessary to kiss.

Farewell to Shrove Tuesday. On this day, bonfires were lit in the northern and central regions of European Russia, and a straw effigy of Maslenitsa was buried in the southern regions. Maslenitsa is a complex and ambiguous phenomenon. This holiday goes back to the spring agricultural rites of the pre-Christian era of the life of the Slavs, when Shrovetide was timed to coincide with the day of the vernal equinox - the boundary separating winter from spring. Ritual actions were aimed at making the winter hardships end and spring would come, followed by a warm summer with abundant bread. In the XIX-beginning of the XX century. entertainment elements came to the fore in the celebration of Shrove Tuesday.
Farewell to Maslenitsa ended on the first day of Great Lent - Clean Monday, which was considered the day of cleansing from sin and fast food. Men usually "rinsed their teeth", i.e. they drank vodka in abundance, ostensibly in order to rinse out the remnants of fast food from their mouths; in some places fistfights, etc., were arranged to “shake out pancakes”. On Clean Monday, they always washed in a bathhouse, and women washed dishes and “steamed” milk utensils, cleaning it from fat and the remnants of the milk.

Maslenitsa, like any national holiday, is rich in ritual and ritual actions. It is in them that the secret and beauty of the holiday lies.

Many are trying to keep the ancient traditions. But in most cases, pancake traditions and the holiday of farewell to winter itself, that is, the burning of a scarecrow, are held in high esteem.

The holiday before the start of Lent was named.

For a whole week, people try to bake as many pancakes as possible and treat them to all friends, acquaintances, relatives.

Exactly . Since ancient times they were baked from wheat, buckwheat, rye flour. Pancakes were served with sour cream, jam, honey and, most importantly, butter and cottage cheese.

After all, it is customary to eat more dairy products on Shrove Tuesday. Therefore, cottage cheese and butter, cheese and milk, sour cream and curdled milk, fermented baked milk and milk jelly are constantly present on the tables.

And here the church traditions and folk rituals converged. According to the church calendar, a week is considered a cheese week. In fact, this is preparation for food abstinence. From the very beginning of the Maslenitsa week, it is strictly forbidden to consume any meat products.

But the tradition to lean on dairy products appeared long before the Baptism of Rus'. And this is due to the fact that it was at the end of winter that cows calved. So there was plenty of milk.

But the meat stocks were coming to an end. But slaughtering livestock at the time when the offspring is expected was stupid and inexpedient.

Therefore, dairy products became the basis of the diet. The traditions took root and migrated to the church culture of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Maslenitsa holiday - rites Kolodiya

The name Kolodiy has even more ancient roots than Shrovetide. The rite of "reel life" mostly comes from the territories of Ukraine and Belarus.

So, Monday was dedicated to her "birth", on Tuesday the carols were "baptized". Wednesday was associated with all life moments. And already on Thursday the block was to die. On Friday there was a feast ceremony - a funeral with ritual songs, plentiful meals. On Saturday, they “mourned” the block. And on Sunday was the culmination of the holiday.

Throughout the celebration of Maslenitsa, the Block was worn around the village. The goal was to tie a costumed doll to singles and unmarried people.

But there was a redemption option. In order not to disgrace, young men and women hung beads and ribbons on the doll.

And the women themselves were given drinks and snacks. And so it turned out that by the end of the week, when Shrovetide was being sent off, the doll was all hung with beads and decorated with multi-colored ribbons.

Marriage and women's rites on Maslenitsa

Why women? Yes, because the holiday primordially had a certain “femininity”. Even among the people you can find the name Maslenitsa as Babskaya week.

Most of the traditions and rituals for Maslenitsa are associated with the fair sex.

It is considered a good omen to conduct matchmaking on Maslenitsa.

It was customary to carry out matchmaking especially fun with ditties and games on Maslenitsa, with sleigh rides around the village, and sledding from hills. In ancient times, it was customary to walk this week and weddings. However, the Christian Church forbids marriage on Shrove Tuesday.

Such rituals are connected with the cult of fertility. That is why attention was focused on women's existence.

Virginity was praised by beautiful girls, brides. Motherhood was extolled by a woman-mother, a woman-guardian. They worshiped the wisdom of an old woman, women advisers.

However, negative female qualities also did not pass by. What is the son-in-law saying: “Drink, good people, so that my mother-in-law does not dry up in her throat!”.

Yes, this is still at a time when the mother-in-law with the guests at the son-in-law at gatherings. Such a hint of mother's talkativeness. And in general, all the elements of adventures such as "sister-in-law gatherings" belong to the "women's" part of the holiday.

Pancakes as part of the funeral rite

However, traditional pancakes have a funeral origin. In ancient Slavic traditions, it was to invite ancestors to the table to take part in the meal. And pancakes were considered funeral bread with deep symbolism. Its round shape hints at eternity, the warmth of pancakes is an earthly joy, and products such as milk, flour, water are a direct message about life.

There was also a special ritual that confirms the funeral origin of pancakes. The very first pancake baked on Maslenitsa is intended to "treat the dead."

To do this, he was placed in the attic on the dormer window.

Also on the first day of Maslenitsa, it was customary to distribute pancakes to the poor so that they could commemorate the dead.

Hence the saying: "The first pancake for peace."

One of the elements of the funeral rite was fisticuffs. Or games were held on Maslenitsa, associated with the capture of snowy cities. Such fun at first glance is completely harmless.

However, earlier these funs were quite dangerous. Some fellows even paid off with their own lives. Special training was carried out. The men took a steam bath before the fight and said goodbye to their relatives.

They fought to the point of blood, although there was no purpose to kill. Blood symbolized sacrifice to the spirits of the dead, as well as to the gods.

For men, it was a way to release energy, riot, rollicking, filled with a special sacred meaning.

Another rather piquant ritual was held in the north of Russia, in particular in the Arkhangelsk provinces. The stewards of the holiday were necessarily appointed: “Voevoda” and “Maslenitsa”. On the last day of the festive week, the stewards went around the village, and after that, on the square, where all the inhabitants gathered, they undressed and began to imitate washing in the bath with their peculiar movements in the nude. Only the Voevoda could really take off his clothes, and already in the nude, push his fiery speeches, which ended the festivities.

What was the meaning of such a strange "striptease"? First of all, philosophical. In this way, the symbols of death, birth, conception were emphasized. After all, a person is born completely naked, and conception takes place in the nude. Yes, and a man with a naked soul dies - he cannot take with him anything that belongs to him during his lifetime.

Burning Shrovetide is another rite that combines funeral and agricultural traditions.

The scarecrow itself was a sacred sacrifice that was brought to the gods. The bonfire symbolized the funeral fire. Be sure to dance around the fire on Maslenitsa. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the village gathered for dancing, from young to old. This is such a primitive dance on Maslenitsa was akin to ritual funeral dances at the feast. In addition, the meaning of the ritual was also to say goodbye to winter, which was burned. It was in the winter that the feast was held.

But the ashes left from the fire were scattered across the fields, while prayers were said that sanctified the land. The gods were asked for harvests and good weather.

Sacred meaning was also invested in the songs for Maslenitsa. The girls walked through forests, groves, along the banks of reservoirs and sang stoneflies and ditties about Maslenitsa. In this way, both spring itself and the forces of good were invoked. People asked Nature itself to give a blessing for the new harvest year.

To make the year rich, it was customary to organize festivities on Maslenitsa, which lasted all week. So, there was a sign that the more times you ride a sleigh down the mountain, the better the flax harvest will be.

And still necessarily break tables. And under no circumstances should you refuse food. Every day people went to visit guests, for which special names were invented for each day of the week. There was a belief that the more satisfying the Maslenitsa holiday itself was, the more fruitful the year itself would be. Therefore, Maslenitsa was a holiday of gluttony.

Today folk traditions are being revived. And Shrovetide has become one of the most beloved holidays. And for some, this is a great occasion to remember those rituals that were performed by our ancestors. Here are some of the most successful rituals that can be repeated to contemporaries in an attempt to attract good luck, love or wealth. After all, you can not only have fun during Maslenitsa, but also try to take advantage of folk traditions.

So, a ritual to attract wealth. Such a ceremony is held outside the city, preferably in the forest. A fire is kindled in which you need to burn any old things. It turns out that the road to the new is opening while the old is being burned.

But do not forget about the conspiracy that needs to be pronounced while things are burning:

“In life, I open the door to a new one,

Burning unnecessary and old things,

Let all unnecessary go away

And Maslenitsa brings me profit and good luck.

An interesting rite of passage to attract money. It will definitely help you get rich quick without much effort. To do this, you need to go out the next day after the Sunday festivities to the square where the effigy was burned. That is, on Monday you go to the public square and walk there until you find any coin. You need to raise a coin with a virgin hand, while pronouncing a special conspiracy:

“I was a servant of God (your name) walking, I found a coin on my way. As I came to this money, let the money come into my hands on their own. Let how many people were for the holidays, I will have so much money. Amen!"

This coin must be taken home with you. It cannot be spent or given to anyone. They keep the coin until the next Maslenitsa. Exactly one year later, this coin must be thrown away during Forgiveness Sunday at the same place where it was found.

This ritual is suitable for those girls who cannot find their happiness, but dream of marriage. It will help you find your soul mate and find happiness.

You just need not to miss the day of festivities. On Sunday, go to the noisiest square in your village, where many people have gathered to burn Maslenitsa. Stand among this crowd and slowly repeat the plot to yourself:

“Shrovetide has come, brought joy to everyone. Bring Maslenitsa happiness into my life, send me my fate. Let a worthy person meet on my way and call me down the aisle. Let it be so. Amen".

Do not forget to cross yourself three times after this. And the dream of marriage will soon become a reality.

Love rituals: love spell on Maslenitsa

But for those sufferers whose heart has already known love, but the beloved remains indifferent, does not notice it, a special Maslenitsa love spell will come in handy. Pancakes will help to kindle passion in the soul and heart of a guy. But not ordinary, but mixed with holy water.

When preparing the dough, the girl must read the love spell:

“I’m baking pancakes, I want you to like it. As spring comes to us with Maslenitsa, the sun warms, and the snow melts, so the heart of the servant of God (name) will melt to me, the servant of God (name). He will think of me and miss me. To grieve and grieve without me. As I say, so be it. Amen"

Now you can bake pancakes and invite your loved one for a treat.

Having tasted the ritual cooking of the young woman, the guy will definitely not remain indifferent to her.

There are many rituals associated with pancakes. One of them is carried out for the health of all relatives.

Pancakes are baked from the usual dough. But directly during baking in a pan, you need to pronounce the following words:

“I fry pancakes, I add health to myself. As these pancakes get rosy, so do I get healthier. May health come to me, and all ailments go away. My word is strong, but my deed is sculpted. Amen".

You need to taste such pancakes yourself and treat all your relatives.

Whether or not to conduct rituals, ceremonies and conspiracies associated with Maslenitsa is a personal matter for everyone. But you should definitely try holiday pancakes. After all, Great Lent will begin very soon, when recipes using milk, butter and cheese will be banned. For experienced housewives and beginners in cooking, we offer you to get acquainted with an interesting selection of pancake recipes in the article “Pancake Recipes for Maslenitsa”.

Video: rites and rituals for Shrovetide

For more information about Shrovetide rites, see this video.