Maslenitsa traditions and customs summary. Maslenitsa: traditions, history, interesting facts

Maslenitsa - a holiday that has been preserved in Rus' since pagan times. The ceremony of celebrating Maslenitsa is associated with seeing off winter and welcoming spring. After the baptism of Rus', Maslenitsa is celebrated on the last week before Lent, seven weeks before Easter.

Before the Baptism of Rus', Maslenitsa (Komoeditsy) was celebrated for 2 weeks - within 7 days preceding the day of the Spring Equinox and 7 days after it.

The Christian Church left the main celebration of Spring, so as not to conflict with the traditions of the Russian people (similarly, Christmas was timed to the day of the Winter Solstice), but moved the people's favorite holiday of seeing off winter in time so that it did not contradict Great Lent, and reduced the duration of the holiday to 7 days.

B. Kustodiev. Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa is a farewell to winter and a meeting of spring, which brings revival in nature and solar warmth. People have always perceived spring as the beginning of a new life and revered the Sun, which gives life and strength to all living things. In honor of the Sun, at first they baked unleavened cakes, and when they learned how to cook leavened dough, they began to bake pancakes.

The ancients considered the pancake a symbol of the Sun, because, like the Sun, it is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power.

Among the people, every day of Maslenitsa has its own name and meaning:

Monday - Meeting

• On this day, a scarecrow was made of straw, put on old women's clothes, put this scarecrow 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.


• Rich people started baking pancakes from Monday, poor people - from Thursday or Friday.


• The hostesses prepared dough for pancakes with special rituals. Some dough was made from snow, in the yard, when the month came out, saying: "You are a month, your golden horns are your horns! Look out the window, blow on the dough." It was believed that as if from this pancakes become whiter and looser. Others went out in the evening to prepare dough for a river, a well or a lake when the stars appeared. The preparation of the first dough was kept in the greatest secret from all home and outsiders.


• On Monday, a young couple (meeting Maslenitsa for the first time), from a house where there was no father-in-law or mother-in-law, invited their mother-in-law and father-in-law to their place: they came to teach the young housewife how to bake pancakes. The invited mother-in-law was obliged to send the whole pancake projectile from the evening: a tagan, frying pans, a ladle and a tub in which pancakes are placed. Father-in-law sent a bag of flour and a tub of butter.

Tuesday - Play

• From that day on, various entertainments began: sleigh rides, folk festivals, performances. In large wooden booths, 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. Sledding down the icy mountains.


• In general, all carnival fun and fun tended, in fact, to matchmaking, in order to play a wedding on Red Hill after Lent.


• Guests were received and greeted at the gate, at the porch. After the treat, they let them go for a ride in the mountains, where the brothers looked out for brides, and the sisters looked furtively at the betrothed.

B. Kustodiev.

L. Solomatkin

Wednesday - Lakomka

• In each family, tables were set with delicious food, pancakes were baked, in the villages they brewed beer together. There were stalls everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (a drink 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.


• Mother-in-laws took their sons-in-law to pancakes at Lakomka, and for the fun of the sons-in-law they called all their relatives. But before, there were not one or two sons-in-law, as in modern families, but five to ten! So the mother-in-law had to welcome and treat everyone, so much so that not a single one was offended.


• In the evenings, they sang songs about a caring mother-in-law treating her son-in-law with pancakes, played farces with a dressed-up bear about how the mother-in-law baked pancakes for the son-in-law, how the mother-in-law’s head hurts, how the son-in-law said thanks to the mother-in-law.


• It was believed that on Maslenitsa, and especially on Lakomka, you need to eat as much as you like, or, as the people said, "how many times the dog will wave its tail."

Thursday - Razguly (fracture, 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 (the proverb “they don’t beat a lying person”), to attack one person together (“two fight - don’t get the third one”), to hit below the belt (“hit below the waist”) or to hit on the back of the head. There were penalties for violating these rules. It was possible to fight "wall to wall" (again a saying) 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.

Friday - Mother-in-law evenings

• The mothers-in-law had not had time to feed the sons-in-law with pancakes on Wednesday, how now the sons-in-law invite them to visit them!After all, on Friday, on mother-in-law evenings, sons-in-law treated their wives' mothers with pancakes and sweets.


• The son-in-law was supposed to personally invite the mother-in-law the night before, and in the morning to send for her special, ceremonial "call". The more "invited" turned out to be, the more honors were given to the mother-in-law.


• In some places, "Teschin pancakes" took place on gourmets, that is, on Wednesday during Shrovetide week, but could also be timed to Friday.


• The son-in-law's disrespect for this event was considered dishonor and resentment and was the reason for the eternal enmity between him and his mother-in-law.

Saturday - Zolov's gatherings

• On Saturday, at the sister-in-law gatherings (the sister-in-law is the husband's sister), the young daughter-in-law invited her husband's relatives to visit her.


• If the sisters-in-law were not yet married, then she called her unmarried friends to visit. If the husband's sisters were already married, then the daughter-in-law invited married relatives and took the guests to their sister-in-laws with the whole train.

Sunday - Forgiveness Day

• In Russia, this day was called "Forgiveness Sunday", when close people asked each other for forgiveness for all the insults and troubles caused to them; in the evenings it was customary to visit cemeteries and “say goodbye” to the dead.



In the evening, Forgiveness took place between relatives and friends: the children bowed at the feet of their parents and asked for forgiveness, after them all relatives and relatives came. Thus, people were freed from old grievances accumulated over the year, and met the new year with a pure heart and a light soul.



• The main episode of the last day was "seeing off Maslenitsa". By this day, they made an effigy of Maslenitsa from straw or rags, usually dressed it up in women's clothes, carried it through the whole village, sometimes putting the effigy on a wheel stuck on top of a pole; leaving the village, the scarecrow was either drowned in the hole, or burned, or simply torn to pieces, and the remaining straw was scattered across the field: for a rich harvest.

There are not many pagan holidays that have survived in modern Russia. Maslenitsa is one of them and is celebrated the week before the start of Lent. It begins on Sunday, which is popularly called "meat conspiracy", because it was on this day that one could eat meat for the last time before fasting. Therefore, all families tried to get together to arrange magnificent festivities. Many people called the holiday “perebukha”, “byedukha”, “fun”, “Wide Shrovetide” (after all, no one left the celebration hungry, and the housewives tried to bake as many pancakes as possible).

The history of Maslenitsa

The main inner essence of Maslenitsa is to prepare mentally for the beginning of a long and difficult Great Lent for the majority. This is a holiday of delicious and satisfying food, when no one denies themselves the desire to enjoy their favorite dishes.

It is interesting that in the times of the pagans it was a holiday of the spring solstice, when all people celebrated the New Year. The celebration lasted all week, and its program was very eventful. The name of the holiday was given much later, when there was a tradition to bake pancakes this week and it was already forbidden to eat meat. Pancakes were baked by the pagans, because in shape they resemble the sun.

Of course, during the existence of the holiday, there were many unpleasant situations when such festivities were attacked and even once were completely banned. This change was made by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who was very worried that during the celebration many men were seriously injured. Although no one has begun to fulfill these royal decrees, annually repeating all the customs of Maslenitsa.

But Catherine II and Peter I themselves were very fond of such festivities, when they could also ride a sleigh, go down a hill and eat hot pancakes. During their reign, Maslenitsa comedies organized by peasants were also quite often held. The main plot was the grandiose celebration of Maslenitsa, as well as many real events that had taken place over the previous year.

Shrovetide is the most beloved folk holiday in Russia

According to folk legends, people who celebrated Maslenitsa badly all the next year lived badly. That is why each family tried to cook as many hearty dishes as possible, invite guests, arranging a truly grandiose celebration. Often such feasts ended in the morning with dances and songs. And to this day, many are sure that Maslenitsa should turn into unbridled fun, when tables are bursting with food and everyone rejoices at the arrival of spring.

Of course, Maslenitsa is not only a lot of delicious food and drinks. This is a whole week of fun, dancing, horseback riding and sledding. It is a national holiday, because this week everyone had fun, walked, sang and greeted guests. Every day turned into a real feast, as each housewife tried to cook as many dishes as possible and bake pancakes. At this time, no one thought about work or household chores, because everyone enjoyed a lot of fun, and unmarried girls guessed at their betrothed. During joint skating, each of them tried to attract the attention of the guys and their parents, since in those days the choice of the future chosen one or chosen one largely depended on the decision of the father and mother.

Also on Maslenitsa, they did not forget about the newlyweds who got married last year. According to folk customs, they were rolled in the snow, rolled down from the mountains, and relatives and friends came to visit almost every day. On the last day of the celebration, which is also called "Forgiveness Sunday", everyone asked for forgiveness from each other, and also forgave the grievances received from enemies or acquaintances.

Pancakes: where did the tradition of baking pancakes come from

Pancakes are loved by children and adults, they are eaten not only during Maslenitsa, but it is on this week that this dish has a special knowledge. At all times, housewives competed in making pancakes, because each of them had their own recipe. It was kept and passed down from generation to generation. Most often, wheat, oat and corn flour, pieces of pumpkin and apples, as well as plums were used to prepare this main holiday dish. Initially, the round shape of pancakes was chosen by the pagans in order to attract spring and please the god Yarilo. It was he who was one of the most revered in their religion.

The first ready-made pancake was always given to the poor, because it was baked in memory of all the dead. Pancakes were eaten all day and were often combined with other dishes. They were served with sour cream, jam or eggs, and wealthy families could afford to eat pancakes with caviar.

According to custom, pancakes were baked every day, since they were the main decoration of the festive table. Along with pancakes, the housewives also prepared honey sbitni and gingerbread, brewed beer and brewed fragrant tea. The samovar always remained hot, because this week it was customary to organize not only a family feast, but also often invite guests and participate in nationwide festivities.

Shrovetide effigy construction, Parsley and buffoons

During the festivities, men often arranged amusing fights, and women with children built a Shrovetide effigy from straw. Many families even rode it on a sleigh, accompanying this action with singing and dancing. The scarecrow was dressed in old women's outfits, had fun with it, and after the celebration was over, they were burned at the stake, which symbolized the end of winter.

The burning of an effigy and most of the other Maslenitsa traditions are aimed at quickly driving away the winter and meeting the long-awaited spring. This can also be said about the performances organized by the buffoons on the second day of the celebration. Of course, each of them tried to make the audience laugh, but Petrushka did it best of all. He was the main character in puppet theaters throughout the country, he was loved by both adults and children. Many passers-by took part in such performances, and some families held small comedy concerts at home.

Along with buffoons, trained bears could often be seen on the streets. Animals tried to show the girls who put on makeup in front of a mirror or bake the main treat of Maslenitsa - pancakes. In some cities of Russia, this tradition has been preserved to this day.

Since ancient times, winter has been a real test for a person: it gets dark early, it's cold, and sometimes hungry.

Therefore, among the ancient Slavs, the arrival of spring is a very joyful event, which should certainly be celebrated noisily in order to quickly overcome the insidious Winter.

For this, fun mass festivities were organized.

There are several versions of the origin of this name of the holiday. The following is considered the most popular: during the week of festivities, people tried to appease, that is, appease spring. Hence the name - "Maslenitsa".

According to another version, the Maslenitsa holiday got its name after the arrival of Christianity. 8 weeks before Easter, it is forbidden to eat meat, but it is allowed to eat dairy products. Therefore, the Slavs baked pancakes, pouring them with plenty of oil.

They did not dare to cancel the pagan holiday, it was of great importance for ordinary residents. Christian leaders decided to "attach" it to Easter. In the Christian interpretation, the Maslenitsa week is a week of reconciliation, forgiveness and preparation for Great Lent.

Shrovetide traditions

At first, ordinary round cakes were baked from wheat flour and water, and only in the 19th century they were replaced with lacy pancakes. Round yellow pancakes represent the sun. Therefore, to eat a pancake means to swallow a piece of the sun, its tenderness, generosity and warmth.

Baking such "suns" was also considered a kind of ritual to attract the sun. It is believed that the more pancakes you cook and eat, the sooner spring will come.

In addition to making pancakes, there are other rituals of sun worship. For example, the inhabitants performed a variety of ritual actions that are based on the magic of the circle. Young people on horse-drawn sleighs circled the village several times, driving away evil spirits.

Another indispensable attribute of the Maslenitsa holiday was the bear. What is the connection between them? It turns out that the bear is a symbol of spring. Therefore, one man was dressed up in a bearskin and during the mass festivities he danced along with his fellow villagers.

Each day of celebration had its own rituals:

Monday- meeting. They began to make a stuffed Maslenitsa, dressed him in women's clothes and drove him around the village on a sleigh. Then the scarecrow was placed on a snowy hill, where sledding began.

Tuesday- win. Various entertainments began: folk festivals, sleigh rides and performances. On the streets you can meet large groups of mummers, who, in cheerful masks, traveled from house to house and arranged impromptu concerts.

Wednesday- gourmet. In each house, tables were laid with delicious dishes, pancakes were baked and beer was brewed. Theaters appeared in the village and trade tents were set up where they sold roasted nuts, sbitni and gingerbread.

Thursday- revelry. This is the middle of games and fun. It is believed that Maslenitsa fistfights could be arranged on this day.

Friday- mother-in-law evening. The mother-in-law baked her signature pancakes and arranged a real feast for her beloved son-in-law. Sometimes "mother-in-law pancakes" were held on Wednesday. Then on Friday it was the son-in-law's turn to invite his mother-in-law to pancakes.

Saturday- sister-in-law gatherings: daughters-in-law hosted relatives and treated everyone to delicious pancakes.

Sunday- kisser, forgiveness day, seeing off. On the last day of the week, friends and relatives asked for forgiveness for accidental and intentional upsets and insults.

Maslenitsa- a pagan holiday, the traditions of which are observed today. After all, the arrival of spring marks the birth of a new life, new hopes and dreams, which is very important for absolutely everyone.

Maslenitsa is interesting and unique, if only because it is the only one of a series of pagan holidays that has been recognized by the official Orthodox Church: all other holidays of the pre-Christian Slavs were more or less gently adapted to biblical stories or consigned to oblivion.

In Orthodoxy, this holiday began to be called a cheese, or meat-fare, week: in the last week before Lent, it is already forbidden to eat meat and fish, but cheese, sour cream and, of course, butter are quite permissible - all this is consumed on an incredible scale all week with ruddy pancakes. This year we will start celebrating it on February 12, Monday. Interesting facts and traditions of the celebration are in this review.

The pagan Maslenitsa was celebrated for two weeks

Initially - obviously, hundreds, or even thousands of years ago - the pagan Maslenitsa began a week before the spring equinox on March 21 and ended a week after it, that is, the holiday lasted for two whole weeks in total. All this time, housework practically ceased, pancakes were baked from batter every day - symbols of the new sun.

Symbolism of the circle in Maslenitsa

In order to quickly drive away the cold, they burned bonfires and lowered burning wheels from hills and hills, played, arranged fisticuffs, flirted and had fun, honoring Yarila in such a cheerful way - the god of the sun, fertility, procreation and life in general.

The shape of the circle occurs more than once in the ritual side of the holiday: in addition to pancakes and burning wheels, it is also an obligatory joint drinking of a ritual drink - it should be drunk in turn, be sure to try to forgive everyone who was in the circle, otherwise anger and envy will poison a person's existence until the next spring equinox. Driving round dances was also considered mandatory - perhaps, despite the seeming simplicity, the sacred meaning of such walking in a circle is much deeper than it seems, and this is not just a dance.

Pancakes were at the same time a memorial food - the continuation and birth of a new life is impossible without honoring the roots: ancestors, ancestors. On the last day of Maslenitsa, a straw effigy was burned - as a rule, it was dressed in a woman's dress and symbolized Morana - the cruel goddess of winter and death.

Maslenitsa used to be called differently

The holiday is so deeply rooted in antiquity that even its exact name cannot be established - there are several versions, each of which seems quite logical, but there is no way to check them either.

Komoyeditsa is one of the possible names

Komoyeditsa is one of the surviving names of the holiday that have come down to us, during which the gods from the Light World were revered - Rule. The Yarilo-sun melted the snow, revived nature, and the bears, who were also called “Kom”, woke up. The bear has always been the personification of power and strength, one of the key figures in mythology associated with the main god - Perun.

It was the clubfoot that made pancake sacrifices - which is understandable, if only because the bear after hibernation is quite dangerous for humans, hence the expression “first pancake to coma”, which over time acquired a completely different meaning due to the replacement of one vowel (such transformations are not rare in history).

Other names for Maslenitsa

Shrovetide is called in different areas and now in different ways: Shrovetide, Shrovetide, Pancake, Pancake, Pancake-eater, Glutton, Gluttonous week, Obyedukha, Kolodiy, Tselovalnitsa, Shrovetide carol and Cheese week.

They tried to ban Shrovetide for 7 centuries

Until the 17th century, they tried to ban the holiday - but that was not the case. The most remarkable thing is that it was celebrated anyway, even despite the severity of Lent. As a result, the Church had no choice but to reconcile and leave Maslenitsa alone. True, they decided to save and postpone it from being tied to the day of the vernal equinox - now the beginning of the Maslenitsa week falls on a date that falls 8 weeks before the Easter holiday.

The sacred meaning of the pagan Maslenitsa

The deep meaning of the holiday of resurrection and renewal of the Earth and nature is truly cosmic in scope. Speaking in the language of an ancient myth, during these two weeks the fire of Dazhdbog left the sky, gaining strength in Svarga over the long winter, came to the sleeping Earth and warmed it, awakening the goddess Lelya to life.

Initially, she appeared in the form of a young girl, but on the very day of the spring equinox she became a ruddy, portly woman. The child-sun from Khors gradually turned into Yarila - a young man. As you can see, in the difficult process of the birth of a new life - spring - and the simultaneous veneration of ancestors, three gods are involved at once, although, perhaps, there were some other deities who helped to accomplish the miracle of heat and sun.

Maslenitsa - wedding time

Given the pairing required for true fertility, it is not surprising that it was during this spring time that it was customary to choose a bride and groom for themselves. Unmarried guys and those adults who still have not bothered to marry their grown children - including daughters - were tied with a shoe. This was done by midwives who took birth in women. Those on whom the block - a phallic symbol - appeared, should quickly help find a mate for their children, and even thank the midwife with a gift, propitiate her for the future.

Some historians argue that on the freshly thawed arable land under pancakes and an intoxicating drink, very frivolous games were also played in a circle, personifying the seething of vital juices, insemination and fertility in the literal sense.

Analogues of the holiday in Europe

It was customary to hold rituals of meeting the new spring very similar in meaning in other countries: in Western Europe, this is, first of all, the Beltane holiday, the roots of which go back to the religious traditions of the Druids. It is celebrated by baking the same pancakes, although sometimes on a smaller scale, games and fun in the fresh forest air.

Maslenitsa - "Indian" week

Apparently, in order for women not to be distracted from baking pancakes, visiting guests and matrimonial moods of the family, they were forbidden to sew and spin at this time - these two weeks were also called “woman's”.

A rather wisely drawn up schedule of the celebration made it possible to bake pancakes in turn - depending on their marital status, the rest of the women of the family did nothing on the housework that day.

Shrovetide schedule

A somewhat truncated version has survived to this day - since the holiday has been reduced to a week, but this week, as already mentioned, is scheduled by days, each of which has its own meaning and rituals.

Monday: meeting

They celebrated the meeting of the pure Maslenitsa. It was customary to start Shrovetide week by visiting relatives - the daughter-in-law went to visit her mother for a day from her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and in the evening they came there themselves. Already on the first day, booths for jesters were set up, there must have been sweets on the table.

Tuesday: gamble

From that day on, the fun turned on to the fullest - games and fun followed one after another, the guys and girls began to visit the guests for pancakes in the morning, running along the road to ride down the hill or lower the burning wheel from it after the round dance. It is not difficult to see matchmaking in all these cheerful traditions: first showing grown children, then bringing them together so that after Lent they will have a wedding on Krasnaya Gorka.

“Calls” went from house to house - an analogue of postmen who verbally jokingly invited young people from one family to the house of another at the request of their parents. These messengers were greeted with honor, treated to pancakes and intoxicated wine - or they were refused in a special joke form, asking them to convey: “We have built mountains and all guests are invited,” which meant an already existing marriage agreement with another family.

Wednesday: gourmet

Mother-in-law treated their sons-in-law with pancakes on this day, convoking other relatives at the same time - on this day it was supposed to eat pancakes literally to satiety. Sometimes for the female part of the family, “girls’ congresses” were organized on this day - young girls gathered, accompanied by elderly relatives, singing cheerful songs.

In the evenings, they sang songs during a costume performance about a mother-in-law who treated her son-in-law to pancakes: and her little head ached from the hassle near the stove, and she had to call a disguised bear to ease the torment, and the son-in-law said “thank you” like that.

Thursday: revelry

The main day of the Maslenitsa week. Fisticuffs were arranged - including “wall to wall”, the guys tried to climb a high smooth pillar for a prize tied to the top. Apparently, these were some kind of “show performances” for those who wanted to see the newly chosen groom in men's games. They rode in a sleigh with a stuffed Maslenitsa - and, of course, continued to treat themselves to pancakes.

Friday: mother-in-law vespers

Now the sons-in-law invited their mothers-in-law to visit them, treating their wives' mothers with the same pancakes and sweets. By lunchtime, the mother-in-law appeared with her entire large family - if she received an “honorable” invitation, or alone and for dinner if the invitation was “simple”.

Inviting the mother-in-law should have begun the evening before, and in the morning send special, smartly dressed “invitations”, and the more people sent with an invitation, the more respect was shown.

Saturday: sister-in-law gatherings

On this day, the young wife invited her husband's relatives to visit. The sisters of the husband were initially wary and distrustful of the newcomer from another family, and in order to break through this wall and establish contact, it was customary to give all the sisters of the husband special gifts. If they were already married, it was necessary to travel to their families with gifts and special treats.

Sunday: forgiveness day

As the name implies, on this day it was customary to ask for forgiveness and receive it. On the same day, an effigy of Maslenitsa was burned: old things were sent to the ritual fire, which symbolized sorrows and illnesses. The ashes were scattered over the fields “for fertility”.

Maslenitsa is a daring holiday on a grand scale and with a truly Russian soul. Fun festivities, sleigh rides, fun, meetings with friends and relatives, a huge amount of pancakes eaten, a great mood and most importantly - a premonition of spring, that's what Maslenitsa is!

Maslenitsa appeared during pagan times, that is, before the rise of Christianity. Maslenitsa was originally celebrated for two weeks, before and after the spring equinox, which for many peoples was the beginning of the New Year. Therefore, Maslenitsa was both a farewell to winter, and a meeting of spring (which has survived to this day), as well as New Year's holidays.

After the adoption of Christianity, the pagan holiday was not canceled, just the celebrations were halved and amounted to one week, which is often called the Cheese (or meat-fare) week, and the start date of Maslenitsa became “floating”, directly dependent on the date of Easter.

Maslenitsa is celebrated on the last week before Lent, when it is no longer possible to eat meat food, but so that the transition to the Lenten table is not so abrupt, it was allowed to enjoy pancakes with all kinds of fillings.

Usually Maslenitsa is celebrated in late February - early March, but, like Easter, it can be early (for example, in 2018 and 2029, Maslenitsa will begin on February 12).

For the Orthodox, Maslenitsa is a time to prepare for Lent, reconciliation and forgiveness. During Cheese Week, fasts are canceled on Wednesdays and Fridays, but meat is no longer supposed to be eaten.

Maslenitsa symbolizes the change of winter in spring, fertility and the beginning of a new life, but the dead have never been forgotten during Shrove Tuesday - after all, pancakes are not only small “suns”, but also a traditional memorial dish.

Fertility is the most important factor for all strata of the population, and therefore the effigy of Maslenitsa (the personification of fertility) was made in the form of a portly woman, with magnificent forms and a bright blush on her cheeks, in multi-layered clothes. The tradition of burning an effigy also "worked" for the future harvest - the ashes from Maslenitsa were scattered over the fields, still covered with snow, to increase fertility.

According to pagan rites, a stuffed animal of winter was made and burned on the last day of Maslenitsa, thereby making it clear that they were saying goodbye to it. But in early February, this is not entirely appropriate, so gradually the scarecrow began to be called Maslenaya or Shrovetide.

Maslenitsa is celebrated not only in Russia, but in almost all European countries. Eastern and Western Slavs, both Orthodox and Catholics, celebrate Myasopust- an analogue of Shrovetide week, during the holiday, festivities and fun joint entertainment of young people are organized, especially among unmarried boys and unmarried girls. The purpose of the holiday is to introduce young people and start new relationships that must end with a wedding so that children are born - the fertility of women in the popular sense is directly related to the fertility of the earth.

A well-known Carnival Western Catholics also celebrate the last week before Lent to have plenty of fun before the period of abstinence.

Each nation has its own name for Maslenitsa, for example, in Latvia they celebrate Metheny, and in Lithuania - Uzgovene, the Greeks have fun during Apokries, and the Armenians Boone Barekendan.

Narrow Shrovetide is called the first three days of the Cheese Week, on which not only the holiday was celebrated, but also things were done - housework, cleaning and preparing for the 40-day Lent. Wide Shrovetide was celebrated really widely and heartily - from Thursday to Sunday everything was forgotten, even urgent household chores, the holidays were completely filled with festivities and fun, each day was given a name and its own customs.

Monday - Meeting, the main preparations for the celebration were coming to an end, in the morning the daughter-in-law was sent to her parents' house, where the father-in-law went in the evening to discuss plans for Maslenitsa for a pancake treat. An interesting fact - the saying "The first pancake is lumpy" does not have the same meaning as we are used to. The fact is that in Rus' bears were called koma, which played an important role in the celebration of Maslenitsa - there are customs associated with waking the bear from winter sleep. So the first pancake was given to the comA, that is, to the bears, for their peace of mind and a full awakening. In fact, most often the first pancakes baked on Monday were given to the beggars to commemorate the dead.

Tuesday has a name , is characterized not only by walks and slides, but also by brides, where they invited each other to pancakes.

Wednesday - gourmets, sons-in-law came to pancakes to their mothers-in-law, where guests gathered after they finished the housework.

Thursday- the first day of the Broad Maslenitsa - wide revelry. Fist fights, sleigh rides drawn by three brightly dressed horses, practical jokes, slides and swings, mountains of pancakes with a wide variety of fillings, mead flowed like a river, buffoons, jesters and carnival processions - this is how they walked on Maslenitsa.

Friday called herself . The sons-in-law invited the mother-in-law and her relatives and treated them to pancakes with caviar and fish, as well as sweet fillings.

Saturday- This Zolov's gatherings. The sisters of the husband gathered in the house of the daughters-in-law, ate pancakes and did the most feminine things - they washed the bones for their husbands and their mothers. Young wives made gifts to their sister-in-laws in order to continue to live in peace and harmony.

Sunday known as Forgiven when it was imperative to go to church, where the priests asked for forgiveness from their parishioners, and those, in turn, from each other. A beautiful and bright custom still allows many to ask for forgiveness, which cannot be denied. After all, it is not for nothing that the answer to “Forgive me” always sounds - “God will forgive and I forgive.” On the last day of Maslenitsa, an effigy of Maslenitsa was burned, people visited cemeteries and went to the bathhouse to wash away sins and prepare for Lent.

Pancake recipes for Maslenitsa

At Shrovetide, every hostess knows what pancakes she will serve - those that she is best at! And if you want to turn a little off the beaten track of traditions, we offer several unhackneyed and healthy options, for example, buckwheat pancakes.

Ingredients:

• - 1/2 l.
• - 100 gr.
• - 150 gr.
• - 70 gr.
• - 2 pcs.
• - 1 tbsp. l.
• - 1 tsp

Sift both types of flour into a bowl, add salt and sugar, eggs and mix thoroughly. Introduce milk in small portions, without ceasing to stir the dough. At the end, add butter, previously melted and cooled to room temperature. Mix thoroughly, cover with a towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Bake pancakes in a very hot dry frying pan with a thick bottom. Serve with sour cream and any sweet toppings - jam or condensed milk.

Ingredients:

• (10 thin pancakes) - 300 gr.
• - 700 gr.
• - 1 PC.
• - 2 tbsp. l.
• - 40 gr.
• (to taste) - 2 gr.

The recipe for thin pancakes can be found in ours, bake thin pancakes, peel and finely chop the onion, sauté in vegetable oil, add champignons, cook for 10-15 minutes, salt. Put a couple of tablespoons of filling on the center of each pancake, form a bag by connecting the edges of the pancake and tie with a thin strip of Chechil.

Pancake Chocolate Cake

Pancake Ingredients:

• - 600 ml.
• - 100 gr.
• - 2 pcs.