A fun holiday with mass festivities, games and fun. The day of gluttony and wine drinking, after which everyone asks for forgiveness from each other. Church holiday, preparation for Lent. Pagan holiday, worship of the sun god - Yarila. Seeing off winter (in mid-February?), burning straw Maslyona at the stake ... I received such diverse answers trying to find out what Maslenitsa means for modern people. There was only one thing in common: everyone bakes pancakes!

So what is this mysterious holiday that we have known since childhood, but so differently interpreted by others? To find the roots, the tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa, let's turn to the history of its occurrence.

Where did Shrovetide come from?

So, Maslenitsa is one of the ancient Slavic folk holidays. It was also called Komoyeditsa. "Comas" are breads made from oatmeal, pea and barley flour, to which dried berries and nuts were added. They were eaten on the last day of Maslenitsa. It lasted two weeks - a week before the spring equinox (March 22) and a week after. All this time they baked pancakes - symbols of the sun. They were served hot and generously flavored with butter, which melted on pancakes like snow melts in the sun.

Bears, which have long been a symbol of Russia, were also called "komami". The first pancake - a symbol of spring - was carried to the Bear so that he would wake up from hibernation, and spring would come faster. There is even a proverb:

The first pancake is for comrades, the second pancake is for acquaintances, the third pancake is for relatives, and the fourth pancake is for me.

So, the first pancake is comAm, not lumpy, as we used to say. Lumpy - this is for those who do not know how to bake!

With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, Maslenitsa was timed to coincide with the last week before Lent, so the date of the celebration began to change every year depending on Easter.

The ecclesiastical name of Maslenitsa is Cheese (or meat-fat) week. During this period, it is allowed to consume dairy products, eggs and fish, and you should refrain from meat. That is, it is a kind of preparation for fasting. The meaning of the holiday is in good communication with neighbors - friends, relatives. Maslenitsa ends with Forgiveness Sunday.

Under Peter I, Maslenitsa began to be celebrated in a European way - with clownish antics, processions of mummers like Italian carnivals, with booze and partying. The festival was called "The most joking, the most drunken and the most extravagant cathedral." Such a "demonic" celebration of Maslenitsa lasted for almost thirty years...

It is on such roots that our modern holiday, Maslenitsa, has grown. Accordingly, absorbing a little of everything.

Rites and traditions of Maslenitsa

Having found out the origins of the holiday, we will now consider the rituals and traditions of the celebration.

1. pancake baking symbolizing the sun. They put their heart and soul into their preparation. The dough was kneaded in a good mood, with good intentions, in order to convey warm feelings to everyone who eats pancakes.

2. Capture of the snow fort. It was a struggle between the New (forces of heat) and the foundations of Balance (forces of cold). Women, personifying balance, were at the top of the fortress and guarded the goddess Marena (Maru), made of branches and straw, symbolizing Winter. Men, personifying the forces of the new, were to take the fortress and carry Marena out of her halls. But not the first time, but only the third. It symbolized the trinity. The first two times the men prudently retreated, trying to grab some little things from the girls. And finally, for the third time, the forces of the New won and carried the straw effigy of Madder-Winter to the fire.

3. Ritual of awakening the Bear. On the way, they walked past the "Bear's lair", which they woke up and treated to the first pancake. The awakening of the bear, "coma" symbolized the awakening of all nature, the onset of spring.

4. Burning a straw man meant seeing off Winter to her icy halls. At home, they also made small dolls in advance, similar to a large one, and various other figures - horses, birds, flowers, stars from all kinds of ropes, handkerchiefs, paper, tow, wood and straw. Everything bad that they wanted to get rid of was invested in them. When on the last day of Shrovetide they burned Winter, they threw home-made figurines into the fire, throwing out all the troubles and illnesses with them.

Yes, one more thing. In connection with the advent of Christianity, the date sometimes shifted to the beginning of February, for example, this year Maslenitsa falls on February 16th. It was somehow inappropriate to burn Winter when there were two months left before the snow melted. The Russian people, with their ingenuity, corrected this discrepancy by naming the effigy Maslenaya, and timing its burning to the end of the holiday itself - Maslenitsa, the transition to Great Lent.

5. Round dance and buffoons. When they lit a fire around the effigy, so that the fire spread more, they began to dance round dances around it and sing songs: "Burn, burn brightly so that it does not go out." And buffoons showed performances, sang ditties. "How pancakes flew out of the chimney during Shrove Week! .."

6. Then everyone was invited for common table, rich in treats: pancakes with butter and honey, oatmeal jelly, cookies, coma bread, herbal teas and many other dishes.

These are the traditions of Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa today

Recently, these traditions have been revived. In Russian cities and villages, pancakes are baked throughout the Maslenitsa week and people visit each other. And on the last day of Maslenitsa, mass festivities are held with horseback riding, fun contests, sports competitions, and active winter games.

open trade fairs where they sell all sorts of goodies and folk crafts and souvenirs. Artisans exhibit their work. Here are wicker baskets, and earthenware, and Russian folk scarves, and a lot of everything beautiful, sincere, native, truly Russian. Everyone can buy a gift for themselves and their loved ones.

Small souvenirs - Maslenitsa symbols, you can buy here if you did not have time to make them at home. Having mentally put your troubles and sorrows into them, throw them into the fire to the burning effigy of Maslena - thus get rid of misfortunes this year.

The obligatory part is tea drinking at the samovar with painted gingerbread and bagels. Well, and, of course, pancakes and pancakes with various fillings. "From the heat, from the heat", with oil, red caviar, honey - this is only a small part of this huge holiday - Maslenitsa!

And although this holiday exists in many countries, it is not celebrated anywhere on such a scale as in Russia! Therefore, many tourists from different countries try to get to the celebration of Russian Maslenitsa.

Polina Vertinskaya

Maslenitsa, 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 the Orthodox Easter, which changes from year to year.

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

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

Maslenitsa symbol

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

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

Everyone's favorite delicacy appeared in Russia 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 oatmeal - according to the old custom, the first pancake was always placed on the window for the dead or given to the beggar to remember all the dead.

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

Traditions

Maslenitsa, 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.

They prepared for the celebration of Maslenitsa in advance - people began preparations from Saturday of the previous week and celebrated the "small Maslenitsa". According to tradition, on the Sunday before Maslenitsa, people must visit relatives and neighbors, and also invite them to visit.

On the eve of Maslenitsa, games were also arranged - young men, in small groups, went around the villages and collected bast shoes, and then on the road they waited for those returning with purchases from the bazaar or the city with the question: "Are you taking Shrovetide?" Those who answered: “I’m not taking it,” got cuffs with bast shoes.

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

Shrovetide was accompanied by fun folk festivals - mass slides, dances and songs. Icy mountains were arranged specially, on which a lot of people gathered. They rode on sleds and sledges, on birch bark and on any improvised means.

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

Mummers and buffoons took part in all the entertainment and fun. Fisticuffs were also widespread. But the main rite was considered to be the burning of an effigy at Maslenitsa, symbolizing the departure of the annoying winter and the meeting of the long-awaited spring.

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

Despite the fact that Maslenitsa 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 the Cheese Week, which prepares the Orthodox for Lent, believers who are going to fast can eat dairy products, but meat products are already prohibited.

Customs and rituals

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

Shrovetide week in the old days was full of solemn affairs - every day was filled with numerous amusements, ritual and non-ritual actions, religious and traditional games.

According to customs, the established time on Shrovetide week Monday, which is called "meeting", it is customary to roll out ice slides. According to popular beliefs, it is known that the further the sleigh rolls, the better the harvest will be.

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

Wednesday - "gourmet" - on this day, all hostesses cook various goodies 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 the 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 snowy town.

Friday is called "mother-in-law's evening" - on this day, mothers-in-law treat their sons-in-law with delicious pancakes.

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

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

In Russian villages, in addition to baking pancakes for Maslenitsa, which were a symbol of the sun, they also carried out various activities associated with the circle. For example, a wheel from a cart was decorated and carried on a pole along the streets, they rode around the village several times on horseback, and, of course, danced round dances.

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 where the name of the festival - "Shrovetide" - came from.

In ancient times, Shrovetide rituals were associated mainly 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, so the effigy of Maslenitsa was perceived as the focus of fertility and fertility, and the rituals of his "burial" were supposed to inform the land of this fertility.

Signs

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

According to an ancient legend, the first pancake should be crumbled outside for the birds. Having pecked at the treat, they will fly to 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 - to the harvest of mushrooms.

Material prepared on the basis of open sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pancake recipes for Maslenitsa

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

Ingredients:

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

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

Ingredients:

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

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

Pancake Chocolate Cake

Pancake Ingredients:

• - 600 ml.
• - 100 gr.