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

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

Maslenitsa: traditions and customs

There are several names for this holiday:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maslenitsa: what can and cannot be done?

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

Maslenitsa: the history of the holiday

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

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

Maslenitsa: traditions of celebration

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seriously prepared for the battle:

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

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

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

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

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

Maslenitsa: the meaning of every day

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

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

Proverbs and sayings for Maslenitsa

Video: the history and traditions of the Maslenitsa holiday

Maslenitsa is one of the most beloved and hearty folk holidays. It is associated with the beginning of spring and the abundance of ruddy pancakes on the table. Maslenitsa does not have a fixed date and is celebrated 7 weeks before Easter, falling on the second half of February or the first days of March. This fun holiday is celebrated for a whole week, but not all pancake lovers know the history of the origin of Maslenitsa festivities.

Pre-Christian carnival

Maslenitsa is an ancient pagan holiday that symbolizes the end of a cold winter and the beginning of a long-awaited spring. In Proto-Slavic times, it was celebrated during the spring equinox, when daylight fully took away its rights from the night.

Pancakes were baked these days for a reason - round and hot delicacies glorified the spring sun, which shone brighter and delighted with warm rays. Another version is that the circle symbolizes the inevitable cycle of events, in this case, the return of spring and new life.

There is also a version that pancakes were an attribute of funeral treats, it is known that the Slavs have always worshiped the souls of their ancestors with food. The first pancake on Maslenitsa was traditionally donated to the poor so that they would commemorate their deceased relatives.

The main Shrovetide rite of the pagans is the burning of an effigy. By setting fire to the straw Zimushka, the ancient people believed that the cold would recede faster, and spring would come in time and help grow a rich harvest. The scarecrow was made from straw and rags, dressed in women's sundresses, decorated and seated on a stake. The symbol of winter was carried through the whole village, and then they were joyfully burned at the stake, and the earth was consecrated with ashes. Sometimes, instead of burning it, they lowered it into an ice-hole or symbolically tore it into small pieces, sprinkling the fields with straw.

The main sacred meaning of the ancient Maslenitsa is to consecrate the earth, to ask the spirits of the dead and the gods for a good harvest in the coming year. For the pagans, nature itself was God, so they made sacrifices to it and tried in every possible way to appease the higher powers.

cheese week

With the advent of Christianity, Maslenitsa acquired another meaning - it became a harbinger of Lent and was called Cheese Week. In total, preparation for fasting lasts 22 days, during this period Christians must tune in the right way in order to voluntarily accept all restrictions and receive purification.

In the final week before fasting, it is forbidden to eat meat, but it is allowed to feast on fish, dairy products and eggs. On cheese days, you do not need to fast on Wednesday and Friday, but on these days only one evening meal is allowed. Divine services during Cheesefare Week are not festive, but on Wednesdays and Fridays they are similar to Great Lent. On Saturday, the memory of all the venerable fathers who took tonsure is honored, and on Sunday the first exiles from Paradise are remembered.

It is worth noting that the Church does not consider the ancient Maslenitsa as its holiday, it only timed its own events for the days of traditional folk festivals and gave them the right to exist in a new meaning. The Christian calendar has Cheesefare Week, but there is no mention of Maslenitsa. The main goal of a church holiday, unlike a folk one, is to prepare the soul and body for Great Lent.

Shrovetide traditions

In the modern world, everything is mixed up, but people continue to love the cheerful folk holiday - Maslenitsa and celebrate it cheerfully, drawing customs from the ancient pre-Christian culture.

First day holiday week is called "Meeting", earlier on Monday they walked around the village with a scarecrow and built slides for skiing. Now they are limited to baking pancakes and treating them to the poor.

On the second day, called "Zagrysh", people go to visit, and those who come are treated to pancakes. Also on Tuesday it is customary to have fun, ride the slides and play outdoor games on the street.

Wednesday called "Gourmet". The main tradition of the third day is serving sons-in-law with pancakes. Mother-in-laws must heartily feed the husbands of their daughters, and in order to cheer them up during the meal, other relatives are also invited to the house.

Thursday widely known for fisticuffs and horse racing. In the old days, these fights were far from harmless, but now they are more playful and playful.

On Friday mother-in-laws are going to visit their sons-in-law for "Teschin's Evenings". On this day, mothers eat pancakes in the house of their daughters and praise their sons-in-law.

Saturday- a special day called "Zolovkina gatherings", young wives invited the older sisters of their spouses to visit them, gave them gifts and treated them to pancakes.

Sunday- the most important day of Maslenitsa, known as "Forgiveness Sunday". On this day, all believers and those who simply honor national holidays ask each other for forgiveness, receiving in response the traditional phrase: "God will forgive."

Here is such a variety, but everyone's favorite holiday is Maslenitsa! And there is hardly a person who considers it superfluous and unnecessary.

The last week before Lent begins, Maslenitsa...

The Church did not make Maslenitsa its holiday, but rethought this period of the year - the days preceding Great Lent. It was under the influence of Christianity that this pagan holiday became Shrovetide in the form in which we have known it for many centuries. Through the efforts of the Church, Maslenitsa lost its former pagan meaning and turned into a simple week of rest and fun. This holiday has its own national flavor in different countries.

Shrovetide is a primordially pagan holiday, known in Rus' even before the adoption of Christianity and rooted in pre-Slavic times. Let's make a reservation right away - the Church tradition does not consider it "one's own", and there is no position with that name in the Orthodox calendar. But there is cheese week and week (Sunday) Cheesy, and they have a completely different meaning than the folk Maslenitsa.

The first interesting Shrovetide custom is to eat dairy food. We have already spoken about the fact that this is a church institution. But after all, butter, milk, cottage cheese, pancakes, sour cream stood on the tables of their ancestors long before the Baptism of Rus'! The fact is that at the end of March, for the first time after winter, cows calved, and milk appeared in the houses. Since slaughtering cattle in winter is extremely unwise, and the old stocks of meat were coming to an end, dairy food and flour products were the main source of protein. Hence the name - Maslenitsa, Masnitsa, Pancake.

How does the Church view the pagan ritual side of this week?Is it generally possible for Christians to participate in mass festivities on Maslenitsa?

On the one hand, Christianity rejects most of the philosophical messages of paganism. For example, the Bible is alien to the doctrine of the cyclical nature of time. She says that time is linear, that it, like all being, has a starting point, and that it is based on nothing other than the will of God. Also, the gospel thought denies the idea of ​​the animation of material nature, and yet this was precisely the way of thinking among the majority of pagans.

It is quite natural that, faced with the olive rites, the Church saw in them the expression of a system that contrasted sharply with the heritage of Christ, the apostles and holy fathers. Therefore, for a very long time I had to fight with the most terrible pagan customs. For example, the diocesan authorities made sure that the festivities did not turn into orgies, and fisticuffs or the capture of the town were not as life-threatening as before. Roughly speaking, there was a gradual desacralization of the Proto-Slavic Kolodii.

But, on the other hand, Orthodoxy did not completely destroy Maslenitsa as a secular folk holiday, in which there were also quite positive meanings. This is respect for nature, and a reverent attitude towards women (especially in the traditions of the peoples of Ukraine and Belarus), and reverence for ancestors, and love for the past.

Well, is it possible for Christians to participate in mass festivities? A good answer was once given by the Monk Anthony the Great, with whom such a story happened. One day, a hunter shooting game in the desert noticed how the elder was talking to the monks, and they all laughed together and sincerely. What he saw confused the man, and he began to accuse the saint of idleness. In response to the attacks, he asked the hunter to take a bow and pull the string to the limit. The archer was indignant and said that the bowstring would probably burst if it was stretched beyond the prescribed. To this the old man replied:

- If, while talking with the brothers, we strain the bowstring beyond their measure, they will soon break. So it is necessary for once to show them a little indulgence.

It is clear that the monks of Anthony rarely laughed. But if even the monks, hardened by spiritual exploits, needed relaxation, then how difficult it is for a layman to live without elementary human joys.

Maslenitsa is a joyful holiday, and if it is held in the spirit of love and kindness, then there is nothing wrong when a person has fun on a snowy hill, skating rink, at a party or at home. It is very important that the holiday unites, not divides. So that it is associated with visiting the suffering, and with giving warmth to those who do not receive it.

And you can pervert anything you want ... And if a person knows that where he goes, there will be active libations, "community" (by the way, this is one of the popular names for Maslenitsa) and other indecencies, then, of course, it is sinful to participate in them.

One often hears that Shrovetide is a pagan holiday, and that it is not good for Christians to take part in these celebrations. Is it so? There is no simple answer to this question, as to many questions related to the intersection of pre-Christian pagan culture and traditions with Christianity. The answer to this and other similar questions is complex, that is, consisting of several parts.

Indeed, in the paganism of the ancient Slavs there was a holiday of the spring equinox. This holiday consisted of a whole cycle of rituals related to the farewell to winter and the meeting of spring, and took two whole weeks - one before the spring solstice and one after. The main pagan deity of the pagan Shrovetide was the sun: the winter sun-child Kolyada grew and became the spring youth Yaril. By the way, it is with the worship of the sun that the tradition of baking hot, yellow-oily, round pancakes is connected.

With the advent of Christianity in Rus', the Church left this merry celebration, moving it to a week before the start of Great Lent. Should we see this as the inability of the Church to simply cancel the pagan holiday? Most likely no. The paganism of the ancient Slavs was not at all an idealized worship of good Nature, as some want to present it, but a cruel belief in angry gods with terrible rituals, including human sacrifices (although more often, of course, wine, food and animals were sacrificed).

Christianity successfully fought against the most inhuman manifestations of paganism: no one slaughters children in front of the statue of Perun and throws them alive on the sacrificial fire. But not everything pre-Christian is inhuman and incompatible with the commandments of the Gospel. It is only the communists who want to build their world, first destroying everything old to the ground. The result of such a “perestroika” is known: who was nothing, he became nobody. Christ did not come to destroy the pre-Christian world, but to save it, heal it, raise it from its fallen state and elevate it. Perhaps that is why the Church sanctifies and blesses rather than forbids and destroys.

Of course, those who today celebrate the pagan rituals of the vernal equinox and worship the sun are indeed pagans. But can Christians be considered pagans, whom the Church blesses for simple human fun before the start of Great Lent? Let's look at the example of Christ Himself. He mourned and fasted at times, but at times he ate and drank; He went into seclusion for prayer, but then he was at a party and at dinner parties; finally, He did not have a wife and children, but He blessed the marriage, turning, by the way, water into wine, and not vice versa.

Zealots not according to reason, who see only anti-Christian in everything pre-Christian, should take off their wedding rings; after all, betrothal is a pre-Christian custom, although the Church blesses and sanctifies this custom. Yes, and marriage in general, of course, existed in pre-Christian times. People who see the “hydra of paganism” raising its head during the festivities of the oil week most likely do not understand either the essence of paganism or the essence of Christianity. Paganism is not in pancakes, and Christianity is not in avoiding pancakes. Christians are not ghosts to whom human joys are alien. The attitude to the natural world, as to something originally evil, is the heresy of Gnosticism, which the theologians of the first centuries of Christianity struggled with. Christ came not only to save the spirit, not a ghost, but to heal the soul, and the body, and the whole person.

The Church teaches us not to break the world and time, but to sanctify them. Everything should be holy: childbirth, and death, and work, and rest, and wedding fun, and a church holiday, and Shrovetide, and Great Lent. Of course, overeating, revelry, drunkenness and other sins are not excusable either on oil week or on any other day. But this is not paganism, but demonism. On the contrary, a bright holiday - with prayer and thanksgiving to God for His gifts, with fun and songs, with the awareness of the approach of Great Lent and preparation for it - is a blessed time. By the way, traditionally in Rus', the first pancakes on Monday of the butter week were given to the hungry and the poor.

What about Halloween then? Is this also a "blessed time" and not a pagan holiday? Well, if a person on October 31 puts on an image mask, wanders the streets from door to door and collects "taxes", then he really takes part in a pagan ritual depicting the belief that on this day the spirits of darkness and the spirits of dead people penetrate our world and demand a sacrifice for themselves, which should be left at the threshold so that these spirits do not enter the house. But if a person goes to Mass on October 31, then he does not celebrate Holluin Day, but the Catholic Day of All Saints. If a person sits down at the festive table that evening, then he does not take part in pagan rituals, but simply has dinner.

Everything must be approached with reason, not fanaticism. Without reasoning, Christmas can be declared a celebration of Osiris, and Easter - some kind of pagan fertility ritual, and the family - the cult of the family, and memorial services - the cult of ancestors.

Let us be wise as serpents and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16), let us not be afraid of fear " where not fear"(Ps. 13:5), but let us think more about the fulfillment of the commandments of Christ in joy and sorrow, on the days of Shrovetide and Great Lent, in the temple of God and at home everywhere, and we will always sanctify our whole life, and not offer it to God in pieces : ten minutes a day and two hours a week.

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There is no such thing as the Orthodox holiday Shrovetide, since this day is not marked in any way in the church calendar. But there is such a thing as Cheese Week - the last Sunday before Lent, on which it is allowed to eat non-lean food.

Is it possible for believers to celebrate Maslenitsa

Great Lent is 40 days in which it is not permissible to eat anything meat and fatty (for the most part), as well as humble your flesh and desires, repent before the Lord and humble yourself.

The Church understands that not all people (or rather, a few) can withstand fasting in general, not to mention a sharp rejection of everything pleasant to the body, therefore, it gradually introduces parishioners into this state. The last week of preparation for Lent is the Cheese or Cheese Week (week), which coincides with the pagan holiday Shrovetide.

It is impossible to celebrate the Orthodox holiday Shrovetide, since such a thing simply does not exist, but you can take part in eating pancakes and festivities before diving into fasting. At this time, meat products are already excluded from the diet, liturgies are not performed on Wednesdays and Fridays, but instead a prayer of repentance is read.

This is the last opportunity to feed your flesh and have fun before an important spiritual test.

Pancakes for Maslenitsa

history of the holiday

Maslenitsa is a primordially pagan holiday, celebrated long before Christianity, at a time when people worshiped Yarila, Perun and other pagan gods. Therefore, the Church does not consider it a real church holiday, but celebrates Cheese Week, which falls at the same time and involves eating goodies before Lent.

Shrovetide as a holiday is very joyful and symbolizes the meeting of winter and spring, i.e. kind of transition from death to life. The custom of celebrating it dates back to the Greek and Roman holidays, when they celebrated spring, and later these carnivals were mixed with Slavic rites during the day of the vernal equinox.

Important! Shrovetide has become for the Slavs a symbol of the expulsion of winter and the meeting of heat and sun, which is why it is customary to have fun, hold contests and games - after all, spring should be celebrated with fun!

Maslenitsa has its own traditions and legends, but they are all pagan, so a believer should not go deep into the meaning and meaning of them. It is only worth knowing that, according to pagan beliefs, Maslenitsa was the daughter of Frost and her task was to expel colds and winters, i.e. she became a symbol of spring and the sun.

Why didn't the Church forbid it in the first place? Christianity is simply not accustomed to acting by such methods: it does not forbid everything negative, wrong, thereby not alienating people, but gives it a new meaning, pure.

Of course, we are not talking about obvious sins, but if a pagan holiday can be reborn into a Christian one, why not? The Church has deprived Maslenitsa of its pagan meaning and turned it into an ordinary week of rest. At this time, believers can prepare for Great Lent, meet with relatives, show their hospitality and feed those in need.

About culinary traditions:

Why does the church celebrate Maslenitsa

In fact, the church celebrates Cheese Week. The Church simply did not completely abolish the pagan tradition of celebrating the approach of spring and the end of winter, which was celebrated with religious rituals, so as not to turn people away, but, as it were, brought a different meaning to them.

The same thing happened with caroling and radon and with Christmas. The Church connected Maslenitsa with Cheese Week (preparation for the Easter fast), replacing the pagan meaning with Christian content.

The half-fast meal on Maslenitsa reminds Christians of the imminent fast and makes them think about spiritual food. On Tuesday of Maslenitsa week, the penitential prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read in churches, and drunken revelry is already incompatible with this. Therefore, the Church allows you to have fun on Maslenitsa, eat delicious food, but in moderation, in order to accumulate strength for fasting.

Of course, the vision of the Church and the people is significantly different, so you can still observe pagan rites and rituals on the streets, as well as widespread drinking, but believers should know that the Church forbids doing this and it is a sin.

Advice! This week should not be spent in revelry and drunkenness, as well as gluttony.

It is the believers who should think about how they spend this week, because those who come to church only at Christmas or Easter are hardly interested in Church ordinances and their own spiritual life. But true believers should take care of their spirits and not associate with the assemblies of the wicked, as the first psalm says.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk once said: “Whoever spends Maslenitsa in atrocities, he becomes a clear disobedient to the Church and shows himself unworthy of the very name of a Christian.”

The meaning of the holiday

Considering the meaning of the pagan Maslenitsa holiday, it must be said that before the revolution it had a much broader meaning than it does now.

It was based on the time cycle and the change of seasons, which is why it was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox. In the middle zone of Eurasia (Russia, Ukraine) at that time there was unstable weather: either frost or thaw, so Maslenitsa was the last frontier between heat and cold.

Important! In addition to the idea of ​​cyclicality, Maslenitsa contains the idea of ​​fertility. People sought to help the earth to be reborn after the winter cold in a sacred way, i.e. sanctify it and fill it with strength. Shrovetide was a pagan worship, only people worshiped nature and the earth, and not the Lord.

The third idea of ​​the celebration was the continuation of the family and the idea of ​​the cycle of life. The earth gives life to plants, people feed on them, thereby continuing life, so it is important to pass this life on to children. Life was the most important value.

The last important moment of Maslenitsa was its commemorative essence: the peasants believed that the bodies of their ancestors, being in the ground, could influence its fertility and, by respecting them, a greater harvest could be achieved. Therefore, memorial dinners and mourning laments were arranged on Maslenitsa.

After the accession of Christianity in Rus', the sacred meaning of Maslenitsa disappeared, leaving room only for external entourage and fun.

On the celebration of other non-church holidays:

Burning an effigy for Maslenitsa

Celebration traditions

All traditions of the holiday are associated with food and fun. The main tradition is to cook pancakes with a variety of fillings all seven days. And the Church invites Christians to eat dairy products, eggs and fish this week: everything except meat.

Also this week, it is traditional to visit friends or invite them over. It is also important to provide food to those in need: it is at this time that street feasts make it possible to feed the homeless and give them the opportunity to participate in the common table.

Advice! An invitation to pancakes is considered an excellent occasion to reconcile with loved ones and build relationships.

Traditional festivities are also important:

• carousels were installed on the squares;
• competitions and competitions were held;
• tasks for ingenuity and dexterity (get a prize from a smooth pillar, fistfights);
• tables were set up with pancakes, gingerbread, rolls, samovars, and nuts in sugar;
• sledding, skating and skiing were arranged.

The Church is not against festive festivities, but all this should take place in moderation and without excesses.

Rites

Almost all traditions for Shrovetide can be attributed to folk rituals. Even the custom of eating dairy food, although this is a church institution, the peasants, long before Christianity in Rus', ate dairy food at that time. The roots of this custom are natural - in early March, cows begin to calve, and they have milk. So the name of the holiday appeared - Maslenitsa.

Its other name is “Kolody”, and it came from another custom - “block life”: people dressed up the deck and made it look like a person.

Such a game stretched for a week:

• Monday - "birth";
• Tuesday - "baptism";
• environment - "living life";
• Thursday - "death";
• Friday - "funeral";
• Saturday - "mourning";
• Sunday - the holiday ended.

During the Kolodiya, women tied the deck to the unmarried, i.e. sought to pay off and gave bright beads, ribbons and scarves. So the deck was overgrown with things.

No less expressive is the custom of instilling “femininity” in the holiday. The original legend says that Maslenitsa is the daughter of Frost, and therefore it was called by the people Babskaya week. Usually at this time, engagements were concluded and weddings were played. So the idea of ​​procreation and childbearing was embodied.

Fist fights on Maslenitsa

Pancakes as a symbol of Maslenitsa

But most of all rituals are connected with eating. Funeral meals were held, during which ancestors were remembered and appliances were placed for them, traditional pancakes and funeral pies were baked. Families traditionally had dinner together.

One of the main traditions of Maslenitsa (which has survived to this day) is baking pancakes. V. It has become a tradition for many reasons:

• at the end of the 19th century, they began to believe that a pancake is an image of the sun;
• this dish was a memorial among the ancient Slavs;
• it has a round shape without end, which suggests thoughts of eternal life;
• served warm, which implies earthly joy;
• it is made from familiar foods that speak to life in general.

Usually, on the first day of the week, pancakes were placed on the attic window so that the dead ancestors could also treat themselves to a treat, or they were given to the poor, on the condition that they commemorate the dead.

The traditional custom was to arrange fisticuffs in the squares. It was believed that the spilled blood (and before the battles went to the first blood) acts as a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead. A doll tied from straw, which was burned at the end of the week in the main square of the settlement, also acted as a victim. Later, this custom was transformed into the burning of winter.

Important! The Church refers to these rites as remnants of the pagan past of the Slavs. Today everyone knows that there is only one Lord, and He does not require sacrifices or pancakes, He only requires a pure sincere heart, and this is the main thing.

Watch a video about Shrovetide