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Carnival traditions in our country. Maslenitsa week: Russian traditions and history of celebration. Sunday - Seeing Off or Forgiveness Sunday

Maslenitsa week was able to combine two completely different religions and traditions that are characteristic only of Russian people. She was able to combine the traditions of Christianity and paganism. The roots of this tradition are deeply rooted in pagan beliefs. Previously, people celebrated the end of winter and the meeting of spring, said goodbye to the hungry season and met the fertile spring suffering. Winter was placated with delicious offerings and a bright holiday, and then a scarecrow, which symbolized this time of year, was burned.

After the holiday, spring fully came into its own. Pancakes were the main dish, which symbolized the sun, and it, according to Slavic beliefs, could wake up the spring and the great Yarila. Every year he was reborn in the form of a young, handsome youth who gives people his light and warmth. You could get the strength and patronage of Yarila only after having tasted the pancake.

People happily jumped over the fire in which Winter had just burned, thereby gaining strength and youth. Previously, Shrovetide was celebrated on the day of the equinox, when the day became longer than the night.

Holiday today

After Christianity reliably came into its own, the celebration of Maslenitsa changed almost completely. Even the name of the holiday has changed. It became known as Meat Week, Cheese Week and Meat Week. Even the time for the celebration has changed. Now it was last week before Lent.

For this week, all restrictions were lifted and allowed. Many foods are banned during Lent, so you should have eaten up in advance. Pancakes and round cakes, which until recently were a symbol of the sun, have now become the main symbol of Shrovetide. After all, they were in milk and butter. Now pancakes were eaten with various fillings and the table was full of treats and dishes all week.

The church did not approve of folk festivals with the wires of Winter and the burning of a stuffed animal, but it did not forbid it either, paying a kind of tribute to traditions. According to church traditions, this week all those who are in a quarrel were supposed to make peace and taste the food at the festive table. The celebration ends with Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, people should ask for forgiveness for everything and forgive everyone themselves.

Traditions and customs

In 2018, this holiday starts on February 12th and lasts until the 18th. Everyone is waiting for Shrovetide, because it is a great holiday, and also very funny. They meet him in a big way, with stanzas and chants.

The most popular entertainments were and remain:

Fights with a bear were popular before, but this tribute to tradition has not taken root in the modern world.

The main treat both then and now are pancakes, which are baked with a variety of fillings and every day. The ancestors believed that those who have fun on this day will live a year in joy and comfortably.

Basic Rules

There are many traditionswhich should be adhered to during Pancake Week, but there are also things that should not be done. So, the basic rules are as follows:

  • You cannot eat meat this week, but fish can be in any quantity. In addition, pancakes should be on the table all days.
  • You should eat a lot and often on Shrovetide. It is customary to visit and invite guests to your place - the more hospitable the house, the better.

You can't be sad during Shrovetide week and stay at home alone. You should always be with close and familiar people.

Celebration

As in Ancient Russia, so today there is a certain rite of celebration... So, the first three days were actively preparing for the celebration:

  • firewood was brought in;
  • mountains were built;
  • houses were decorated.

The entire celebration took place from Thursday to Sunday. At this time, each person had to visit relatives and treat themselves to pancakes with tea and butter. So to speak, oil the relationship.

Now you know what Maslenitsa is, the summary of which cannot convey all the beauty and solemnity. In the villages, it was customary to go to the homes of young people with carols, songs and tambourines. And the children had fun with roller coasters and sledges.

No less fun rite was taking the ice fortress... The guys built a fortress from the snow with a gate and put guards there. After, they had to take this fortress. The guards had to defend themselves as best they could - with snowballs, jolts and brooms. Often the game consisted of guys playing against girls.

Fist fights were especially honored by the Slavs. Guys from different villages prepared for them very seriously. They ate hearty, steamed in the bath and even went to the sorcerers for advice and a plot to win.

Scarecrow burning feature

Wide Maslenitsa lasts a whole week and on the last day the effigy of Winter is solemnly burned. Before burning it, people danced, danced and sang.

The stuffed animal was made of straw. It was a big doll, funny and scary at the same time. This was done in order to make it clear that the terrible Winter had passed, a cheerful and joyful Spring had come. Festive women's clothes were put on the doll and left in the center of the widest street for the entire duration of the celebration. On Sunday, they carried it outside the village and solemnly burned it, drowned it in an ice-hole or tore it apart. At the same time, the remains of straw were scattered over the fields to get a rich harvest.

Description of each day

The significance of Maslenitsa is very great for the people of Russia, because it is one of the threads connecting the Orthodox world and the pagan world. The holiday should be celebrated strictly according to a certain principle. Each day has its own special name and meaning:

Today, not all of these days are observed. There is only a tradition to bake a lot of pancakes and invite guests.

Modern Shrovetide

The date of the Maslenitsa changes every year... If in 2013 it was celebrated from March 10, then in 2018 from February 12. Information about the celebration of Pancake Week can be found in the history books for grade 5. It also briefly describes the main sacraments of this holiday.

Today, the celebration has survived in large cities. There they arrange festivities, buffoons dress up, ride horses. They organize a big celebration with many dishes and the obligatory baking of pancakes.

The butter feast especially honors children and adolescents... A colorful scarecrow is installed in schools and kindergartens. In schools, they write various messages on the topic of Maslenitsa and reports that participate in competitions and for them children can receive a variety of gifts.

Women conduct numerous master classes in baking pancakes and cooking all kinds of dishes. This is how children learn to follow folk traditions and adopt the necessary experience.

Holiday in other countries

Maslenitsa - this is a festive tradition not only of the Slavs. In other countries it is also celebrated. In Europe, it is customary to arrange lush and colorful carnivals on Pancake Week. Quarrels and strife during the celebration completely cease and a truce is concluded.

Knowing what the Maslenitsa holiday is, a description of which has been preserved in many sources, Europeans bake round flat cakes for a week, they are analogous to Russian pancakes. They are eaten with jam, jam and preserves.

This holiday is widely celebrated in England... The description in historical sources allows you to determine exactly how long their celebration lasts. There is an interesting and funny tradition of "running with pancakes". Only women participate in it. At the signal of the bell, they begin to run with hot frying pans, on which are pancakes. All women must wear an apron and headscarf. The hardest part of this competition is to throw a pancake up three times. Whoever comes to the finish line first gets the honorary prize - the kiss of the bell ringer.

In Russia, the most honored guests at Maslenitsa were the newlyweds. It was believed that if you get married on this particular week, the family will live a long and happy life without troubles and sorrows. In Poland, it was on these days that the girls were looking for a mate. They invited single guys to visit and treated them to pancakes. But the gratitude was peculiar - this is not the word "Thank you", the girl could just drag the guy by the hair.

What date does Maslenitsa start in the Czech Republic? There this holiday begins on January 6th. And it continues right up to Lent. In the villages, young people smeared their faces with soot and walked singing along the streets. They took with them a motley bar, which they put on all the girls they met around the neck or on the arm. To pay off the harassment, the lady had to pay the young people with a kiss or a treat.

In France, Maslenitsa is associated with a beautiful legend about how the guy Gabriel saved the beautiful maiden Rose from the hands of the devil. It is in their honor that the second day of Maslenitsa is celebrated, which is called Mardi Gras. The celebration lasts until deep midnight, when the carnival ends.

Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday, it came to us from paganism and has preserved its traditions in the Christian religion. Since the Shrovetide holiday begins exactly one week before Lent, according to church canons, this holiday is called Cheese (or Meat) week.

There is also a version that the holiday was called "Shrovetide" just because in the Orthodox culture a week before Lent meat was excluded from the diet, but dairy was still allowed.

Over the centuries, Maslenitsa has preserved its traditions of folk festivals and to this day this holiday, which lasts a whole week, is considered the most fun. That is why Maslenitsa has always been one of the most beloved national holidays; among the people it was affectionately called “kissing woman”, “kisatochka”, “yasochka”, “sugar mouth”, “honest carnival”. Nevertheless, the traditions and rituals of the holiday are designed to awaken nature from winter sleep and drive away the cold winter.

Pancakes for carnival

Pancakes are the main symbol and main treat of the holiday. They began to bake them right from Monday and ate throughout the holiday from morning to night. The tradition of baking pancakes for Shrovetide has gone in Russia since the days of paganism, when people called the sun god to drive away the winter, and a ruddy pancake served as a symbol of the summer sun.

Each housewife prepared pancakes according to her own family recipe, which was passed on from mother to daughter, and so on from generation to generation. So, for example, pancakes in each family were baked from different varieties of flour, various additional ingredients were added, for example, millet porridge, pumpkin, potatoes, apples. They ate pancakes with sour cream, eggs, caviar and other dishes.

In Russia, there was also a custom: the first pancake was considered "for peace", so it was given to a beggar to commemorate the dead or put on the window.

Maslenitsa week - rituals and traditions

The whole Shrovetide week has always been called “wide, cheerful, Madame Shrovetide”. Each day of the week got its own name, which serves as a decryption for what is supposed to be done on that day.

Monday - Meeting

On the first day of Shrovetide, pancakes began to bake, and in addition, a scarecrow of Maslenitsa was made from straw, old clothes and other improvised means, which was dressed in women's clothes, impaled and carried in a sleigh through the streets.

Tuesday - Flirting

On this day, fun games began and matchmaking rites were held, and after Lent, weddings were played.

Wednesday - Gourmands

Wednesday is traditionally the day of the son-in-law's visit to the mother-in-law - for pancakes. On this day, the sons-in-law went to visit their mother-in-law, and the mother-in-law baked pancakes for her son-in-law with her own hands.

Thursday - Walk

This is the day of the most massive folk festivals. The people indulged in various amusements - they arranged horseback riding and riding from ice slides, fistfights and the capture of a snow town, jumping over a fire. After all the entertainment, they had a party, of course, with pancakes.

Friday - Mother-in-law evening

On this day, mothers-in-law went to their sons-in-law with a return visit, and their daughters baked pancakes.

Saturday - Cousin's gatherings

A young daughter-in-law invites her sister-in-law and other relatives of her husband to visit for pancakes. On this day, it was customary to visit all relatives.

Sunday - Seeing Off or Forgiveness Sunday

People thanked and asked each other for forgiveness for the troubles and insults caused to each other during the year, after which they sang songs, had fun, thereby seeing off Shrovetide. In conclusion, they solemnly burned an effigy of Maslenitsa, in which a pancake was put in the hand. And after the scarecrow burned down, the youth arranged jumping over the fire, completing the holiday.

Shrovetide is one of the most fun and long-awaited holidays of the year, which lasts a whole week. At this time, people have fun, go to visit, arrange walks and eat pancakes. Before entering Great Lent, people say goodbye to winter, enjoy warm spring days, and, of course, bake delicious pancakes.


The Maslenitsa celebration date changes annually. It depends primarily on the calendar and Easter: they begin to celebrate Shrovetide 56 days before the Bright Resurrection of Christ. Thus, this year Maslenitsa week falls on February 12-18. In the liturgical books, this period is called Cheese Week - this is the last week before Lent, which begins the day after Maslenitsa and lasts 48 days. The whole week is divided into two periods: Narrow Pancake Week - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Wide Pancake Week - Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Many people await with trepidation the onset of Maslenitsa, the traditions of which are rooted in 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 are: fist fights, eating pancakes for a while, sleigh rides, "conquering" a pole, tug of war, swimming in ice holes and the main rite - burning a stuffed animal, symbolizing the departure of a boring winter and the welcome of the long-awaited spring.


Shrovetide customs


  • Always the first pancake on Shrovetide is eaten in honor of the memory of deceased ancestors.
  • In the past, there was a custom that has now been completely forgotten: at the end of Maslenitsa, the father-in-law invites his son-in-law to “eat the ram,” that is, the last meat day before the beginning of Lent.
  • Children on Shrovetide whistled with whistles, which were made in the form of birds, thereby calling back migratory birds.

Fortune-telling on Maslenitsa

Fortune-telling was also popular these days. The first baked pancake on Pancake Week was used to judge what awaits during the year until the next Pancake Week:



  • If the pancake has easily turned over - this year will be a marriage.
  • If the pancake stuck to the frying pan - sit in the parent's house for another three years.
  • Smooth edges at a pancake - a happy marriage.
  • The edges are uneven, torn - you need to think about whether you are going to marry.
  • If there is a heat in the middle, the husband will be faithful. If from the side, it will start looking at the neighbors.
  • How many holes are in the pancake - so many children in the shops.
  • A beautiful ruddy pancake - there will be a lot of health, pale - to disease.
  • A thin pancake - to an easy life, a thick one - to work.

On the last day of Maslenitsa pancakes were handed out to passers-by, and if the first man took the pancake, then a boy will be born in the family first, if a woman, then a daughter will appear in the family. If all the pancakes were handed out, then the family was happy, and if the pancakes remained, then the girl would sit in girls for so many years.

On Shrovetide, each day of the week has its own name. And although few people observe all the rites and customs of the holiday today, everyone should know their traditions.


Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa is called differently, and all these names mean the same thing. Due to abstinence from meat, the name of the meat-and-mouth came about; from eating cheese - cheesy week; from the widespread use of oil - Shrovetide, which lasts a whole week before Lent. In the calendar and church books, the name of the cheese week is used. At this time nothing meat is eaten; fish, milk, eggs and cheese are common to everyone. The famous name of this week throughout Russia is Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa - a holiday of farewell to winter, the eighth week before Easter. Shrovetide took place before Lent, in the cheese-growing week of the Orthodox calendar, and ended with Forgiveness Sunday.
According to the canons of the Orthodox Church, the cheese-growing 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. Shrovetide was called honest, broad, drunk, gluttonous, ruinous. They said that she “sang and danced for a whole week, ate and drank, went to visit each other, rolled in pancakes, bathed in oil”. Shrovetide was celebrated throughout Russia, both in villages and in cities. Its celebration was considered compulsory for all Russian people: "At least lay yourself down, but spend Shrovetide."
In the villages, all residents took part in it, regardless of age and social status, with the exception of the sick and the weak. Failure to participate in Shrovetide fun could entail, according to legend, "life in bitter trouble." The festivities began with Shrovetide on the Sunday before Shrove Tuesday. However, this rite was not widespread. Where he was known, Shrovetide was greeted with pancakes, which were laid out on elevated places with calls: "Come to visit me, Shrovetide, wide in the yard: ride on the mountains, lie in pancakes, laugh with your heart!", As well as singing songs : Pancake week, our dear Guest! She does not walk to us on foot, Everyone comes on horseback. Her horses are black, Servants are young. The first three days of the Shrovetide week were preparing 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 Shrovetide. All Pancake week entertainment usually took place on the street.
They entered the houses only to warm up a little, if it was frosty, and to treat themselves to festive dishes. Smartly dressed people - girls, boys, married couples, children, old men and old women - all poured out into the street, took part in a festive party, congratulated each other, went to the fair, where they bought necessary and unnecessary things, marveled at the wonders that were shown in the booths - traveling theaters, enjoyed puppet shows and "bear fun" - performances of the leader with a bear.
The Pancake Week complex included such entertainment as skiing from the mountains, sleigh rides, various ceremonies of honoring newlyweds, fist fights, processions of mummers, war games, such as "Taking a Snow Town", etc. A characteristic feature of Maslenitsa was the use large amounts 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, cheese cakes, cheesecakes, brushwood, flat cakes. The predominance of dairy food was due to the church ban on meat consumption in the week preceding Great Lent.
On Shrovetide, many songs, jokes, sentences sounded, most of which did not have ritual significance, these were funny songs dedicated to Shrovetide and Shrovetide festivities:
Oh you, dear butter dish,
Darling, cherish, dear. She came to visit us,
She came, cherished, came. Yes, I brought cheese and butter,
Brought, cherished, brought. And we rolled the butter dish,
Ride, go, ride. They rode on a black horse,
We skated, slept, skated.

The history of the Shrovetide is rooted deep in antiquity. Shrovetide is an ancient Slavic holiday that we inherited from pagan culture, preserved even after the adoption of Christianity. It is believed that originally 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 significance of Shrovetide. For the Slavs, for a long time it was also a New Year's Eve! Indeed, until the XIV century, the year in Russia began in March. Even pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Maslenitsa, had ritual significance: round, ruddy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun, which flared up more and more brighter, lengthening the days. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: how a person meets a year, so he will be. Therefore, our ancestors did not skimp on this holiday on a generous feast and unrestrained fun. And people called Shrovetide among the people "honest", "wide", "gluttonous", and even "ruinous".
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 riotous fun. By the way, at one time Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich tried to calm down his daring subjects with the most stringent measures. The governors sent out tsarist decrees to cities and villages, either prohibiting private distillation, or demanding that Russians not gamble, and did not carry out fist fights. But neither the formidable imperial decrees, nor the instructions of the patriarch were able to cope with the overflowing fun.
But in 1724 in St. Petersburg Maslenitsa failed. Peter, a well-known lover of all kinds of amusements, intended to arrange a funny sledge procession in the new capital, but all the festive week there was a snowstorm and there was a severe frost. For several days, the participants in the procession in costumes and masks gathered at the gathering place, but, stiffened along the way, went to warm up to someone's visit. Alas, the element won, the fun failed.
On the occasion of her coronation, Catherine II, imitating Peter I, organized a grandiose masquerade procession in Moscow at Masleni week called "Triumphant Minerva." 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 in squares. The hills 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 opposite 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 sbitn, tea made from steaming samovars, sweets, nuts, pies and pancakes was unfolding near the icy mountains. The audience in large booths was amused by buffoons and the favorite folk hero Petrushka.
In villages where booths never happened, the inhabitants themselves became the protagonists of an unusual battle - the capture of a snow town. Having gathered, they together erected 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 in the game were divided into two parties. Horse daredevils 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, faced a test: he was forced to swim in an ice hole.
But the most beloved and beautiful Shrovetide rite was sleigh rides. Everyone who had a horse rode out, and assorted teams were racing through the streets: the rich flaunted sleek trotters and painted sleds covered with a carpet, and after them galloped peasant horses, cleaned to a shine, decorated with colored ribbons.
Of course, pancakes were the main treat at Maslenitsa. They were baked and eaten in countless quantities.

There were certain rituals for each day of the oil week. On Monday - Maslenitsa meeting, on Tuesday - flirting. For gourmands, that is, on Wednesday of Oily Week, mother-in-law invited sons-in-law and 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 tobogganing took place on wide Thursday. On Friday - 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's 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 offended by words or actions. The whole week was called "honest, wide, cheerful, boyarynya-Shrovetide, Mrs. Shrovetide."
Monday - meeting
On this day, a stuffed animal of Maslenitsa was made from straw, they put on old women's clothes, put this stuffed animal on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh through the village. Then Shrovetide was set on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began. The songs that are sung on the day of "meeting" are very cheerful.
Tuesday is a play
From that day, various kinds of entertainment began: sleigh rides, festivities, performances. In large wooden booths (premises for folk theatrical performances with clownets and comic scenes), performances were performed led by Petrushka and the Maslenitsa grandfather. On the streets there were large groups of masked mummers driving around familiar houses, where funny home concerts were arranged impromptu. Large companies rode around the city, on triplets and on simple sleds. Another simple entertainment was held in high esteem - skiing down the icy mountains.
Wednesday is a gourmet
She opened treats in all homes with pancakes and other dishes. In each family, tables were laid with delicious food, pancakes were baked, and beer was made in the villages in a club. Theaters and stalls appeared everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (drinks made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, honey gingerbread. Here, right under the open sky, one could drink tea from a boiling samovar.
Thursday - revelry (fracture, wide Thursday)
This day was the middle of games and fun. Perhaps it was then that hot Maslenitsa fist fights took place, fists, leading their origin from Ancient Russia. They also had their own strict rules. It was impossible, for example, to beat a lying person (“they don’t beat a person while lying down”), two of them could not attack one (two were fighting - the third did not climb), hit below the belt or hit on the back of the head. For violation of these rules, punishment was threatened. It was possible to fight “wall to wall” or “one on one”. There were also "hunting" battles for connoisseurs, fans of such fights. Ivan the Terrible himself watched such battles with pleasure. For such an occasion, this amusement was prepared especially magnificently and solemnly. And yet it was a game, a holiday, which, of course, matched the clothes. If you also want to follow 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, relaxation will come (maybe this was some secret meaning of fist 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 Shrovetide customs were aimed at speeding up weddings, helping young people to find a mate. And how much attention and honors were given to the newlyweds at Shrovetide! Tradition requires that they go out in a smart manner "on people" in painted sleighs, pay visits to everyone who walked at their wedding, so that they solemnly roll down the icy mountain with 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 made a real feast (if, of course, the son-in-law was to her liking). In some places, "mother-in-law pancakes" took place for gourmets, that is, on Wednesday during Shrove Tuesday, but could coincide with Friday. If on Wednesday the sons-in-law were visiting their mother-in-law, then on Friday the sons-in-law organized “mother-in-law evenings” and invited them to pancakes. A former boyfriend usually showed up, playing the same role as at the wedding, and receiving a gift for his troubles. The invited mother-in-law (there was 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 groats and cow butter. The son-in-law's disrespect for this event was considered dishonor and insult, and was the reason for eternal enmity between him and his mother-in-law.
Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings
The sister-in-law is the husband's sister. So, on this Saturday, the young daughters-in-law received their relatives. As you can see, on this "fatty carnival" every day of this generous week was accompanied by a special feast.
Sunday - farewell, kissing man, forgiven day.
The last day of Shrovetide 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 offenses and griefs caused in the current year. When meeting (sometimes even with a stranger) it was necessary to stop and with three bows and "tearful words" ask for mutual forgiveness: "Forgive me for what I am guilty of or have sinned before you." “God forgive you, and I forgive,” the interlocutor answered, after which he had to kiss as a sign of reconciliation.

We said goodbye to Shrovetide on Sunday. On this day, bonfires were burned 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 dates back to the spring agrarian rites of the pre-Christian era of the life of the Slavs, when the carnival was timed to coincide with the day of the vernal equinox - the line separating winter from spring. The ritual actions were aimed at ending the winter hardships and spring to come, followed by a warm summer with abundant bread. In the XIX-early XX century. in the celebration of Shrovetide, entertainment elements came to the fore.
Farewell to Maslenitsa ended on the first day of 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 the meat from the mouth; in some places, fistfights and the like were organized to “shake out the pancakes”. On Clean Monday, they always washed themselves in the bathhouse, and the women washed the dishes and "steamed" the dairy utensils, cleaning them of fat and remnants of meat.

Since ancient times, winter has been a real test for man: it gets dark early, 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 overcome the insidious Winter as soon as possible.

For this, cheerful mass celebrations were arranged.

There are several versions of the origin of such a name for the holiday. The most popular is the following: on the week of the festivities, people tried to cajole, that is, to appease the spring. Hence the name - "Maslenitsa".

According to another version, the Shrovetide holiday received this name after the arrival of Christianity. It is forbidden to eat meat 8 weeks before Easter, but it is allowed to eat dairy products. Therefore, the Slavs baked pancakes, pouring abundant oil on them.

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

Maslenitsa traditions

At first, ordinary round cakes were baked from wheat flour and water, and only in the 19th century they were replaced with lace pancakes. The round yellow pancakes represent the sun. That is why 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 are cooked and eaten, the faster spring will come.

Besides making pancakes, there are other rituals of sun worship. For example, the inhabitants performed various ritual actions based on the magic of the circle. Young people on horse-drawn sleighs traveled around 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 with his fellow villagers.

Each day of the celebrations had its own rituals:

Monday - a meeting. They began to make an effigy of Maslenitsa, dressed it in women's clothing and took it around the village on a sleigh. Then the scarecrow was placed on a snow slide, where sledding began.

Tuesday - overplay. Various entertainments began: folk festivals, sleigh rides and performances. On the streets you can meet large groups of mummers, who in cheerful masks drove around their homes and arranged impromptu concerts.

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

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

Friday - mother-in-law's 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 the mother-in-law to pancakes.

Saturday - sister-in-law's gatherings: the daughters-in-law received their relatives at home and treated everyone to delicious pancakes.

Sunday - kissing person, forgiven day, farewell. On the last day of the week, friends and relatives asked for forgiveness for accidental and deliberate grief and insults.

Maslenitsa is a pagan holiday, the traditions of which are still 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.