The modern generation still honors the holidays that were celebrated by our ancestors, and one of them is Maslenitsa. To have a fun and unforgettable Maslenitsa week, you need to know about the main traditions of this event.

Shrovetide is celebrated annually a week before the onset of Lent. It is during Maslenitsa week that you can pamper yourself with your favorite traditional food and plunge into the cheerful atmosphere of the holiday. Many believe that this ancient Russian event is only pagan in nature. However, the history and some traditions of the holiday are closely related to the Orthodox religion.

Shrovetide: history of the holiday

You already know that immediately after the Maslenitsa week, the long Lent begins. However, during the Maslenitsa period, you can enjoy delicious and hearty meals. Eating dairy food is one of the main traditions of the holiday. Usually at the beginning of March, for the first time since winter, cows were calving. In the cold season, people preferred not to slaughter livestock, and there was almost no meat left. Therefore, dairy products were the main source of protein. That is why pancakes on Shrovetide were baked only in milk.

Our ancestors believed that pancakes are a symbol of the Sun and warmth. To speed up the onset of spring, each hostess cooked pancakes with different fillings during the week and always invited guests home.

At the beginning of the Maslenitsa week, it was customary to start preparing for the holiday. Therefore, they began to decorate houses, build snowy mountains and dress up a scarecrow.

Despite the fact that the Maslenitsa effigy was decorated on Monday, it was allowed to burn it only on Sunday. Thus, people saw off the annoying cold winter and welcomed the warm spring.

At the beginning of the week, all residents were building a large snow mountain. It was believed that whoever rolled down the mountain more times would be happier for that year.

During this period, unmarried girls and boys began to show attention to each other. The future hostesses demonstrated their culinary skills to the guys and treated them to pancakes and other pastries.

Fun is an important part of Shrovetide. People went out into the street, danced in circles, sang and danced. Young people played snowballs, sledged and had fistfights. Girls who dreamed of getting married wondered about their betrothed.

During this time, both experienced and young housewives could boast of their culinary skills. Mother-in-law came to the house of their sons-in-law, and they treated them to pancakes, which is why the fifth day of Maslenitsa was nicknamed "Mother-in-law's evening." However, the young wives did not want to stand aside and called the whole family to their home. Not all young girls could please guests, and in this case they received advice from the oldest woman in the family.

We said goodbye to winter only on the last day of Maslenitsa. People staged noisy festivities, had fun and burned a scarecrow. A rich table was set in each house, in the center of which was a large plate of pancakes. This day was also called Forgiveness Sunday. All family members asked each other for forgiveness, and the believers attended church to pray for forgiveness and begin Lent with a pure soul.

The burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa is an old rite. On the last day of Maslenitsa week, you can say goodbye to the cold season and greet the coming spring. However, making a straw doll is not so easy: for this you need to familiarize yourself with the important rules and features of its creation. We wish you happiness and good mood, and don't forget to press the buttons and

Maslenitsa is one of the happiest holidays of the year, which is widely celebrated throughout Russia. It reflects centuries-old traditions, carefully preserved and passed down from generation to generation. This is a week-long ritual holiday with round dances, songs, dances, games, dedicated to parting with winter and welcoming spring.

history of the holiday

In fact, Maslenitsa is an ancient pagan holiday. It is believed that initially Maslenitsa 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 Russia, it has long been customary to celebrate the change of seasons. Winter has always been a difficult time for people: cold, hungry, dark. Therefore, the arrival of spring was especially rejoicing, and it definitely had to be celebrated. Our ancestors said that it is difficult for a young Spring to overcome the old insidious Winter. To help Spring drive away Winter, they organized merry festivities on Shrovetide. Saying goodbye to Winter, the ancients glorified Yarila - the pagan god of the sun and fertility. Yarilo appeared to the Russians in the form of a young man who died every year and was resurrected again. Yarilo, having resurrected, gave people the sun, and the sunny spring warmth is the first step on the way to a bountiful harvest. Before the baptism of Russia, Maslenitsa was celebrated 7 days before the Spring Equinox and another week after.

With the adoption of Christianity, the time for celebrating Maslenitsa was shifted and reduced by a whole week. The church did not dare to cancel Maslenitsa and prohibit entertainment, despite all the cheerful and not very religious traditions: this holiday was too significant for the people. But Shrovetide week quite harmoniously blended into Christian traditions. Maslenitsa began to be celebrated on the eve of Lent. You can't eat meat a week before Lent, but people don't really need it, because pancakes are baked on Shrovetide. There are enough of them to feel full and not suffer from a lack of meat food. This is a great opportunity for an Orthodox Christian to eat before Lent. But in the Orthodox interpretation, Maslenitsa week is not so much a week of fun as a week of preparation for Great Lent, forgiveness, reconciliation, this is the time that needs to be devoted to good communication with relatives, friends, and charity.

Boris Kustodiev. Pancake week. 1916

Shrovetide: why is it called that?

The most common is the following version: on Shrovetide people tried to appease, that is, to butter up the spring. Therefore, the celebrations were called “Maslenitsa”.

According to another version, this name appeared after the adoption of Christianity. After all, you cannot eat meat, but you can eat dairy products. Therefore, people baked pancakes and poured oil on them abundantly. This is where the name associated with butter pancakes comes from. This week was also called meat-eating - due to the fact that there is an abstinence from meat, and cheese - because this week they eat a lot of cheese.

And also called Shrovetide among the people "honest", "wide", "gluttonous", and even "ruinous".

Traditions and customs

Our ancestors revered the sun as God, because it gave life to everything. People rejoiced in the sun, which, with the approach of spring, began to appear more and more often. Therefore, a tradition arose in honor of the spring sun to bake round, shaped like the sun, flat cakes. It was believed that after eating such a food, a person will receive a piece of sunlight and heat. Over time, pancakes were replaced by pancakes. Round, ruddy, hot - pancakes are a symbol of the sun, which means renewal and fertility.

Also in Ancient Russia, pancakes were considered a memorial dish and were prepared in memory of departed relatives. Pancakes also became a symbol of Winter's burial.

Pancakes for Shrovetide needed to be baked and eaten as much as possible. They were served with all kinds of fillings: fish, cabbage, honey, and, of course, with butter and sour cream. Baking pancakes has become a kind of ritual to attract the sun, prosperity, prosperity, well-being. The more pancakes are cooked and eaten, the faster spring begins, the better the harvest will be.

Sergey Utkin. Pancakes. 1957

In addition to baking pancakes, there were other Shrovetide rituals associated with worship of the sun. So, for example, various ritual actions were performed based on the magic of the circle, because the sun is round. Young people, and adults too, harnessed the horses, prepared the sledges and made several rounds of the village. In addition, they decorated the wooden wheel with bright ribbons and walked with it along the street, fixing it on a pole. During the general festivities, round dances were necessarily performed, which were also a ritual associated with the circle, that is, with the sun. It symbolized the sun and fire: the guys lit wooden wheels and rolled them down the hill. Whoever was able to roll his wheel without a single fall, he expected happiness, luck and prosperity in the current year.

The most popular entertainments that used to be organized in villages during Maslenitsa were fist fights, sleigh rides, climbing a pole for a prize, eating pancakes during the time, and, of course, round dances, songs and dances.

Another indispensable participant in the Maslenitsa festivities was a bear. People put on a bear skin on one of the men, after which the mummer danced along with his fellow villagers. Later, in the cities, a live bear was also shown on the square. The bear has become one of the symbols of Maslenitsa and the onset of spring, because in winter the bear sleeps in its den, and in spring it wakes up. The bear woke up - it means that spring has come.

And, of course, the symbol of the holiday is the Maslenitsa effigy, made of straw and dressed in bright clothes. The scarecrow personified both the Maslenitsa holiday itself and the wicked winter. On the last day of Maslenitsa, the scarecrow was burned at a ritual bonfire.

On Shrovetide, it has always been customary to eat and have fun as much as possible.

Boris Kustodiev. Pancake week. 1919

Our ancestors believed that those who do not eat and do not have fun on Shrovetide will live the coming year poorly and joylessly.

By the way, in pagan times in Russia, the New Year was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, that is, Maslenitsa and New Year were celebrated on the same day. Winter has been driven away - it means that the new year has come. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: how a person meets a year, so he will be. Therefore, they did not skimp on a generous feast and unrestrained fun on this holiday.

Maslenitsa week

Shrovetide is celebrated for seven days, from Monday to Sunday. The whole week is divided into two periods: Narrow Shrovetide and Wide Shrovetide. Narrow Shrovetide - the first three days: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Wide Shrovetide - these are the last four days, from Thursday to Sunday. In the first three days, the housewives could do household chores, do the cleaning. On Thursday, all work was stopped, and the Wide Maslenitsa began. On these days, any chores and chores were prohibited. It was only allowed to have fun and bake pancakes.

Each day of Shrovetide week has its own name and is filled with a unique meaning.

So, the days of Maslenitsa week:

Monday - Meeting.

The first day of Maslenitsa week is called "Meeting" - it is a meeting of Maslenitsa. On this day, pancakes begin to bake. The first pancake was traditionally given to the poor, poor and needy people, so that they would pray for the souls of deceased relatives, or leave a pancake on the doorstep in tribute to their ancestors.

On Monday, we were dealing with organizational issues related to the festivities. On this day, preparations for the holiday were completed: snow slides, booths, swings, trays for trade were being completed.

In the morning, the father-in-law and mother-in-law sent the daughter-in-law to her father and mother for the day, in the evening they themselves came to visit the matchmakers and treated themselves to pancakes, rejoicing at the beginning of the Pancake Week.

And it was on this day that an effigy of Maslenitsa was made from straw and other improvised materials, dressed up in old clothes, various rags, at the same time getting rid of old stuff. The scarecrow was then impaled and driven in a sleigh through the streets, and finally put on public display on the main street or village square until Sunday.

Tuesday - "Flirting".

Tuesday has traditionally been a day of festivities, games and fun. On this day, in the morning, the fun began, we rode sledges, ice slides, carousels. Buffoons walked the streets, entertaining the people and treating themselves to the generous donations of the hostesses.

Leonid Solomatkin. Pancake week. 1878

On this day, relatives and friends were called for pancakes.

Flirting was a matchmaking day in the villages. Young people furtively looked at each other, guys looked for brides for themselves, girls looked at the guys and secretly wondered which of them would be the first to send matchmakers. And the parents looked closely at their future relatives and, in a joking manner, began to come to an agreement about the upcoming celebration.

All Shrovetide rituals, in fact, boiled down to matchmaking, in order to have a wedding immediately after Lent.

Wednesday - "Gourmet".

On Wednesday, according to tradition, the son-in-law came to his mother-in-law for pancakes, which she cooked especially for him. The mother-in-law had to feed her son-in-law to plenty and in every possible way showed her affection for her daughter's husband. From this custom came the expression "Son-in-law came, where to get sour cream?" There could be several sons-in-law, other guests, relatives, neighbors were invited, and the tables were bursting with treats. The sons-in-law praised their mother-in-law and sang songs of praise to them and acted out funny skits with dressing up. Women and girls got together, rode sledges through the villages and sang funny songs and ditties as well.

Thursday - "Revelry".

From that day, the Wide Maslenitsa began. All chores stopped and real festivities in honor of Maslenitsa took place. The people with might and main indulged in all kinds of fun, games and amusements. People rode down slides, swings and merry-go-rounds, arranged merry horse rides, sleigh rides, played snowballs, feasted noisily, all this was accompanied by merry round dances and chants.

On this day, fist fights and wall-to-wall games were usually held, where young people showed their prowess and become, showing off in front of girls and brides. Residents of two villages, landowners and monastic peasants, residents of a large village living in opposite ends could participate in battles and compete. Moreover, they prepared for the battle very seriously: they steamed in the bath, ate hearty to gain strength, and even turned to the sorcerers with a request to give a special conspiracy to win.

One of the favorite traditional amusements was the storming and seizure of the ice fortress. The guys built a town of ice and snow with a gate, put guards there, and then went on the attack: they climbed the walls, burst into the gate. The besieged defended themselves as best they could: snowballs, brooms and whips were used.

Vasily Surikov. Taking a snowy town. 1891

The meaning of these games, as well as of the whole Shrovetide, is the outburst of negative energy accumulated over the winter and the resolution of various conflicts between people.

Children and youth went from house to house with tambourines, horns, balalaikas, singing carols. They were willingly treated with delicacies and conveyed greetings and obeisances to their parents and relatives.

In the cities, residents, dressed in their best outfits, took part in festive festivities, went to theatrical performances and booths to watch the fun with the bear and buffoons.

Konstantin Makovsky. Festivities during Shrovetide on the Admiralty Square in St. Petersburg. 1869

Friday - "Mother-in-law's evening".

On this day, the son-in-law invited his mother-in-law to his pancakes. The mother-in-law came with a return visit, and even with her relatives and friends. Pancakes that day were baked by a daughter - the wife of a son-in-law. The son-in-law had to demonstrate his affection for the mother-in-law and her relatives. Family gatherings strengthened the relationship between relatives, and the general fun reminded of the imminent approach of the long-awaited spring and warmth.

Saturday - "Cousin's Gatherings".

On this day, the daughter-in-law honorably invited her husband's relatives to the house for pancakes. If the sisters-in-law, the sisters of the husbands, were unmarried, the daughter-in-law would invite her unmarried girlfriends to common gatherings. If the husband's sisters were already married, then the daughter-in-law called her married relatives. The newlywed, according to custom, prepared gifts for her sister-in-law and presented each one.

Sunday - "Seeing off Shrovetide". Forgiveness Sunday.

Shrovetide week ends with Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, close people ask each other for forgiveness for all the troubles and insults caused during the year. After the adoption of Christianity, on this day, they always went to church: the abbot asked for forgiveness from the parishioners, and the parishioners - from each other, and bowed, asking for forgiveness. In response to a request for forgiveness, according to tradition, they say the phrase "God will forgive." Also, on Forgiveness Sunday, it was customary to go to the cemetery and commemorate deceased relatives.

Like many years ago, today the culmination of the whole Maslenitsa is the burning of a scarecrow on Sunday. This action symbolizes the farewell to winter and the onset of spring. On this day, people organized fairs, tea parties with bagels, rolls and pancakes, played games, danced around the Maslenitsa effigy, sang and danced, and, finally, burned the effigy, dreaming that everything bad that was in life would burn with it and the ashes were scattered over the fields.

Semyon Kozhin. Pancake week. Seeing off winter. 2001

Large bonfires were also a significant tradition, they were burned specifically to melt the remnants of the snow and quickly invite the beautiful spring to visit. Old unnecessary things were thrown into the fires, thus getting rid of everything that interfered with life. Round dances were performed around the fires, and one of the favorite pastimes was jumping over a blazing fire. On this day, all the old grievances and conflicts were forgotten, and they said: "Whoever remembers the old will be out of sight."

Maslenitsa signs.

There are many signs associated with Shrovetide. It is believed that the more pancakes you bake, the more luck, money and health there will be in the family this year. If you skimp on treats and bake a few pancakes, then it won't matter with finances.

If the pancakes turned out to be poorly baked or ugly, this meant that difficult times, illnesses and troubles were not far off. In the process of making pancakes, it was imperative to be in a good mood, think about good deeds and wish everyone who treats themselves to a pancake goodness and happiness. Each housewife had her own personal recipes for pancakes for Shrovetide, and they did not always reveal their secrets. In addition to the eggs, flour and milk familiar to all of us, they added potatoes, apples, buckwheat, nuts, and corn to the dough.

Our ancestors also believed that cold and inclement weather before the start of Shrovetide - to a good harvest and prosperity. And the girls who wanted to get married had to drink all the men they met - acquaintances and strangers - drunk, because meeting a drunk man on Shrovetide is also a good omen that promises a happy and long marriage.

The traditions of Maslenitsa celebration are rooted deep in our history. And in the old days, and now this holiday is celebrated on a grand scale, with a variety of entertainments and, of course, with pancakes. Many Maslenitsa traditions have survived to this day. No wonder Maslenitsa is one of the most fun folk festivals!

Merry Shrovetide, delicious pancakes and well-being!

Shrovetide, in pagan times, was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, simultaneously with the onset of the new year, but after the adoption of Christianity, the date of the celebration was tied to Orthodox Easter, which changes from year to year.

Maslenitsa begins to be celebrated a week before Lent - the festivities last a whole week and ends on Forgiveness Sunday. In 2019, Maslenitsa week falls on March 4-10.

Since ancient times, Maslenitsa has been famous for its delicious and plentiful food. People, before the strictest and longest fasting, try to feast on a wide variety of dishes, without denying themselves anything.

Shrovetide symbol

The symbol and the main dish of the holiday are pancakes - golden, round, hot, symbolizing the sun, which are especially tasty on Shrovetide.

It was a flat cake or a round pancake that was dedicated to the pagan gods - it was the sacrificial bread. Accordingly, they saw off the winter and greeted spring with this symbol of the sun.

Everyone's favorite delicacy in Russia appeared more than a thousand years ago - every housewife had her own recipe for making pancakes, which were eaten with butter, sour cream, fish, caviar, vegetable filling, honey or jam.

Pancakes were baked from different types of flour - from corn, wheat, buckwheat and oat flour - according to an old custom, the first pancake was always put on the window for the repose or given to a beggar to commemorate all the dead.

To this day, pancakes, the recipes of which have undergone many changes over the past centuries, are considered a Russian traditional dish and a favorite treat in every home.

Traditions

Shrovetide, in pre-Christian times, was celebrated by all the people cheerfully and recklessly for two weeks, today the festivities have been reduced to seven days.

Preparations were made for the celebration of Maslenitsa in advance - people began preparations from Saturday of the previous week and celebrated the "small Butter dish". According to tradition, on Sunday before Maslenitsa, people always visited relatives and neighbors, and also invited them to visit.

On the eve of Maslenitsa, games were also arranged - young men, in small groups, walked around the villages and collected sandals, and then waited on the road for those returning with purchases from the bazaar or the city with the question: "Are you taking Shrovetide?" The respondents: "I'm not taking it", got cuffs with bast shoes.

On Shrovetide, in the old days, a rich treat was prepared - along with pancakes, pancakes, pies with various fillings: cottage cheese, mushroom, vegetable, cabbage, and so on were served on the table.

Shrovetide was accompanied by cheerful folk festivities - massive roller coasters, dances and songs. Ice mountains were specially arranged, on which many people gathered. We rode on sleds and sleighs, on birch bark and on any means at hand.

In the villages, according to tradition, they certainly rode horses harnessed to decorated sledges. In front of the sleigh, a shaft was installed with a wheel fixed at the top, symbolizing the sun. Entire sled trains were organized.

Mummers and buffoons took part in all the entertainments and fun. Fist fights were also widespread. But the main ritual was considered to be the burning of a stuffed animal at Shrovetide, symbolizing the departure of the annoying winter and the welcome of the long-awaited spring.

After the adoption of Christianity, the Orthodox Church did not fight the ancient tradition, and simply accepted the holiday, making some adjustments to it.

Despite the fact that Shrovetide is tied to the Bright Resurrection of Christ, it is not mentioned in the church calendar, but there is Cheese Week (week), which is celebrated a week before Lent. Lent in 2019 begins on March 11, respectively, Cheese Week is celebrated on March 4-10.

During Cheese Week, which prepares Orthodox Christians for Great Lent, believers who are going to fast can eat dairy products, but meat products are already prohibited.

Customs and rituals

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.

Shrovetide week in the old days was filled with solemn affairs - every day was filled with numerous fun, ritual and non-ritual activities, religious and traditional games.

According to the established customs on the Monday of Shrovetide week, which is called "meeting", it is customary to roll out ice slides. Legends say that the farther the sleigh rolls, the better the harvest will be.

On Tuesday, called "flirting", it is customary to start funny games and treat them to pancakes for the fun created.

Wednesday - "gourmet" - on this day all the hostesses prepare various delicacies in large volumes, primarily pancakes, decorating a rich table with them.

On Thursday, called "walk around," according to tradition, people help the sun drive away winter, which consists in riding around the village clockwise - that is, "in the sun" on horseback. In addition, men on this day are engaged in defense or the capture of a snow town.

Friday is called "mother-in-law's evenings" - on this day mother-in-law treats their sons-in-law with delicious pancakes.

Shrovetide Saturday is known as "sister-in-law's gatherings". According to custom, on this day, they pay visits to all their relatives, friends and neighbors, who are supposed to treat guests with pancakes.

"Forgiveness Sunday" is the last day of Shrovetide, on which, according to custom, it is customary to ask everyone for forgiveness for offenses. After that, Maslenitsa is seen off with songs and dances.

In Russian villages, in addition to baking pancakes for Shrovetide, which were a symbol of the sun, they also carried out various actions related to the circle. For example, a wheel from a cart was decorated and worn on a pole along the streets, they drove around the village several times on horseback, and, of course, danced in circles.

People believed that by such actions they beg, "cajole" the sun, so to speak, and make it, as it were, more indulgent. Perhaps this is the origin of the name of the festival - "Maslenitsa".

In ancient times, the rituals for Shrovetide were mainly associated with the beginning of a new cycle and the stimulation of fertility. The main heroine of the holiday was Maslenitsa, embodied in a scarecrow.

For the peasant, the fertility of the land was extremely important, therefore the effigy of Maslenitsa was perceived as the focus of fertility and fertility, and the rituals of his "funeral" were supposed to impart this fertility to the land.

Signs

Shrovetide, first of all, is the time of commemoration of the dead, and the first pancakes baked on the Monday of Shrovetide week are dedicated to the ancestors. Therefore, they kneaded dough and baked pancakes in silence, going over the faces of relatives in memory, remembering their actions and words.

According to an ancient tradition, the first pancake should be crumbled on the street for birds. Having pecked the treat, they will fly into heaven and ask the Lord for you and your loved ones.

To strengthen family ties, you need to gather the whole family at the table in the evening, on the first day of Maslenitsa.

According to another sign, in order to find out the name of the future betrothed, the girl took one of the first pancakes, went out into the street, treated the first person she met and asked his name.

Bad weather on Sunday before Maslenitsa - for the mushroom harvest.

The material was prepared on the basis of open sources

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

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

Shrovetide: traditions and customs

There are several names for this holiday:

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

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 that used to be organized in the villages were:

• fist fights;
• eating pancakes for a while;
• sleigh rides;
• climbing a pole for a prize;
• games with a bear;
• burning a stuffed animal;
• swimming in ice holes.

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

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

Shrovetide: what can and cannot be done?

1. On Shrovetide, you cannot eat meat. It is allowed to eat fish and dairy products. Pancakes should be the main dish on the table in every home.
2. You need to eat on Shrovetide often and a lot. Therefore, it is customary to invite guests and not skimp on treats, as well as to visit themselves.

Shrovetide: 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 Russia, the celebration was called "Farewell to Winter".

Our ancestors revered the sun as a god. And with the onset of the first spring days, we were glad that the sun was beginning to warm the earth. Therefore, a tradition appeared to bake round, shaped like the sun, flat cakes. It was believed that after eating such a food, a person will receive a piece of sunlight and heat. Over time, pancakes were replaced by pancakes.

Shrovetide: traditions of celebration

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

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

The main celebration took place from Thursday to Sunday. They came into the house 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 dwellers took part in festive festivities:

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

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

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

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

On Shrovetide, boys and young men showed their agility in fistfights. Residents of two villages, landowners and monastic peasants, residents of a large village living in opposite ends could take part in the battles.

Seriously preparing for battle:

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

Features of the rite of burning a scarecrow of winter on Shrovetide

As many years ago, and today the culmination of Shrovetide is considered to be the burning of a scarecrow. 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 scarecrow, which is sacrificed, they made a large funny and at the same time scary doll, personifying Maslenitsa. They made a doll out of rags and straw. After that, she was dressed up in women's clothing and left on the main street of the village during Pancake Week. And on Sunday they were solemnly carried outside the village. There the scarecrow was burned, drowned in an ice-hole, or torn to pieces, and the straw left over 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 revive its power in spring.

Shrovetide: the meaning of every day

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

1. Monday called "Shrovetide Meeting". On this day, pancakes begin to bake. It is customary to give the first pancake to poor and needy people. On Monday, our ancestors prepared a scarecrow, dressed it in rags and displayed it on the main street of the village. It stood on public display until Sunday.
2. Tuesday nicknamed "Flirting". It was dedicated to youth. On this day, festivities were organized: they rode on sleds, ice slides, carousels.
3. Wednesday- "Gourmet". On this day, guests were invited to the house (friends, relatives, neighbors). They were treated to pancakes, honey cakes and pies. Also on Wednesday, it was customary to regale their sons-in-law with pancakes, hence the expression: “ Son-in-law came, where to get sour cream?". Also on this day, horse races and fist fights were held.
4. Thursday popularly nicknamed "Razgulyay". From this day, the Wide Maslenitsa begins, which is accompanied by snowball games, sledding, merry round dances and chants.
5. Friday nicknamed "Mother-in-law's evenings", because on that day the sons-in-law invited the mother-in-law to their house and treated them to delicious pancakes.
6. Saturday- "Sister-in-law's gatherings". The daughters-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 named "Forgiveness Sunday". On Sunday they said goodbye to winter, saw off Maslenitsa and symbolically burned her effigy. On this day, it is customary to ask friends and family for forgiveness for the grievances that have accumulated over the year.

Proverbs and sayings on Shrovetide

Video: history and traditions of the Maslenitsa holiday

Pancake week - a holiday that has survived in Russia since pagan times. The celebration of Maslenitsa is associated with the farewell to winter and the welcome of spring. After the baptism of Russia, Maslenitsa is celebrated in the last week before Lent, seven weeks before Easter.

Before the Baptism of Russia, Maslenitsa (Komoeditsa) was celebrated for 2 weeks - during the 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 coincide with the Winter Solstice), but shifted the holiday of the farewell to winter, beloved by the people, so that it would not contradict Great Lent, and reduced the duration of the holiday to 7 days.

B. Kustodiev. Pancake week.

Shrovetide is a farewell to winter and a meeting of spring, which brings revitalization in nature and the warmth of the sun. 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, unleavened cakes were first baked, and when they learned how to make leavened dough, they began to bake pancakes.

The ancients considered the pancake to be a symbol of the Sun, since it, like the Sun, 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 stuffed animal 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.


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


• The hostesses prepared dough for pancakes with special ceremonies. Some dough was prepared from snow, in the yard, when a month comes 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 cook dough on a river, well or lake when the stars appeared. The preparation of the first dough was kept in the greatest secret from all households and strangers.


• 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: they came to teach the young housewife to bake pancakes. The invited mother-in-law was obliged to send the whole pancake shell in the evening: a tagan, frying pans, a ladle and a tub in which they put pancakes. The father-in-law also sent a sack of flour and a tub of butter.

Tuesday - Flirting

• From that day, various entertainments began: sleigh rides, festivities, performances. In large wooden booths, performances were performed led by Petrushka and "Maslenichny Grandfather". On the streets there were large groups of mummers, in masks, driving to familiar houses, where impromptu home concerts were arranged. Large companies rode around the city, on triplets and on simple sleds. We sledged down the icy mountains.


• In general, all Shrovetide amusements and amusements tended, in fact, to matchmaking, so that after Lent, they would play a wedding on Krasnaya Gorka.


• Guests were received, met at the gate, at the porch. After the meal, they let them go for a ride to the mountains, where the brothers looked out for brides, and the sisters glanced furtively at their betrothed.

B. Kustodiev.

L. Solomatkin

Wednesday - Gourmet

• In each family, tables were set with delicious food, pancakes were baked, and beer was made in the villages in a club. Trade stalls appeared everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (a drink made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, honey cakes. Here, right under the open sky, one could drink tea from a boiling samovar.


• At Gourmet, the mother-in-law took the sons-in-law to pancakes, and for the fun of the sons-in-law they called all the relatives. But before the sons-in-law were not one or two, as in modern families, but five or ten! So the mother-in-law had to welcome and treat everyone, so much so that no one was left 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 a mother-in-law baked pancakes for her son-in-law, how a mother-in-law's head hurts, how a son-in-law said thank you to his mother-in-law.


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

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 hit a lying person (the proverb “they don’t beat a person while lying down”), two of them were not allowed to attack one (“two are fighting - the third is not to climb”), to hit below the belt (“hit below the belt”) or hit on the back of the head. For violation of these rules, punishment was threatened. You could fight "wall to wall" (again a saying) 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.

Friday - Mother-in-law evenings

• No sooner had the mother-in-law fed pancakes to the sons-in-law on Wednesday than now the sons-in-law invite them to visit them!Indeed, on Friday, on mother-in-law's evenings, the sons-in-law treated the mothers of their wives to pancakes and sweets.


• The son-in-law had to personally invite the mother-in-law the night before, and in the morning send special, ceremonial "calls" for her. The more there were "invited", the more honors the mother-in-law was.


• In some places, "mother-in-law pancakes" took place for gourmets, that is, on Wednesday during Shrovetide week, but could also be confined to Friday.


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

Saturday - Cousin's gatherings

• On Saturday, for the sister-in-law's 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 invited her unmarried girlfriends to visit. If the husband's sisters were already married, then the daughter-in-law invited the married relatives and, with the whole train, carried the guests to their sister-in-law.

Sunday - Forgiveness Day

• In Russia, this day was called "Forgiveness Sunday", when close people asked each other for forgiveness for all the offenses 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 friends came. Thus, people freed themselves from old grievances accumulated over the year, and greeted the new year with a pure heart and a light soul.



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