Maslenitsa

Almost everyone knows about this holiday. But if you ask a specific question: what is Maslenitsa, the answers will sound quite different. For some, it is associated with fun and mass celebrations, while others see it as one of the stages of preparation for Lent. Well, someone will remember the famous cartoon by Robert Sahakyants “Look, you, Maslenitsa.”

All of the above answer options will be correct, because Maslenitsa is a holiday with many faces and contains a huge number of meanings and symbols. And yet, what is Maslenitsa? Where did she come from? How was it celebrated before?

Why is it called that?

Celebrating Maslenitsa in Russia
The name comes from butter, which, like other dairy products, will be banned after the end of the week. Exactly after the end of Forgiveness Sunday, the seven-week Lent will begin, and the seven days before it are called Maslenitsa. But however, it was not always like this. Previously, the holiday was called Komoeditsa, and the beginning of this complex word meant a bear among the ancient Slavs.

Magic rituals during Maslenitsa

On the week of Maslenitsa, as well as on other solar breaks, the Slavs called for good and cleansed themselves of evil. It is no longer possible to convey in a short description all the subtleties of magical rituals. At Northern Fairy Tale we have made ready-made kits for carrying out such rituals. Such that every person can repeat all the correct actions and read the northern conspiracies.

Set for a protective ritual addressed to Yarilo during Maslenitsa

Rituals for tuning into changes in nature

Is Maslenitsa a pagan or Orthodox holiday?

Image of the god Yarilo, who symbolizes the Sun.
Part of the traditions of the holiday comes from the pagan customs of the ancient Slavic peoples. It originally symbolized the spring equinox, when the night became shorter and the day longer. Usually this moment fell on March 20-21, and the god Yarilo, symbolizing the Sun, began to melt the snowdrifts.

But after the Baptism of Rus', for some time the church did not accept these rituals, although it did not prohibit them. Only closer to the 17th century, Maslenitsa was reduced to 7 days (previously the celebrations lasted 14 days). The Orthodox Church initially did not include it in the calendar, but since the Bible contains mention of Cheese Week and Forgiveness Sunday, they subsequently organically became part of the week-long celebration. Maslenitsa was timed to coincide with Lent, moving it about two weeks ago. So this holiday became Orthodox, while retaining pagan features.

Maslenitsa: the meaning of the holiday

Let's start with the fact that in ancient times this holiday was much more multifaceted than in pre-revolutionary times. It was based on a cyclical perception of time common to all pagan cultures, and the more archaic a civilization was, the more attention it paid to emphasizing this idea of ​​cyclicality.

Proto-Slavic Maslenitsa was celebrated at the beginning of spring - on the day of the vernal equinox, when the day finally won the advantage over the night. According to the modern calendar, this is approximately March 21 or 22. In the middle zone, on the territory of present-day Russia, in Belarus and Ukraine - the regions where, in fact, oilseed customs originated - the last days of the first spring month have always been unpredictable. Either the thaw will come, or the frost will press down. “Spring fights winter,” our ancestors said. And it was precisely on Maslenitsa that a certain milestone was drawn, before which the world was dominated by cold, and after which the warmth finally came. Everything was returning to normal again, and this return of life was one of the main points of celebration.

And where there is life, there is its multiplication. Maslenitsa, in addition to the idea of ​​cyclicality, carries elements of the cult of fertility. The earth was resurrected, absorbed the last winter snow, and filled with juices. And now people had to help her, give this process some kind of sacred basis. In more familiar language, Maslenitsa rituals are designed to sanctify the land, fill it with strength so that it produces a bountiful harvest. For the peasants who formed the basis of ancient Russian society, the harvest was the main value, so it is not surprising that special attention was paid to Maslenitsa ceremonies. Maslenitsa was a kind of pagan liturgy, only the role of God here was played by nature itself and its elements, to which the Slav made an impromptu sacrifice.

The third and no less important point is procreation. The fertility of the earth continues in those who live on it and feed on its plants. If you eat the food that Mother Earth gave you, then you must give life to others. The idea of ​​the cycle of life, its giving and transmission to children was key to pagan consciousness. Life itself was the fundamental value, and everything else was just a means to achieve it.

And the last thing that can be said about the sacred component of Maslenitsa. This holiday was also a memorial. The peasants believed that their ancestors, who were in the land of the dead with their souls and in the earth with their bodies, could influence its fertility. Therefore, it was very important not to anger the ancestors and honor them with your attention. The most common way to appease the spirits was a funeral feast - funeral ceremonies that included sacrifices, mourning crying, and hearty meals. It was believed that the dead themselves invisibly participate in funeral feasts.

In fact, Maslenitsa was one of man’s attempts to get closer to the mystery of life and death, a kind of system in which the entire cosmos was perceived as an endless series of dying and resurrection, withering and flourishing, darkness and light, cold and warmth, unity and struggle of opposites. By the way, intimate relationships, unlike Mediterranean and Western European cultures, were also perceived by the Slavs as something sacred, as a source of new life. And even the sweetness of intercourse was not the goal, but a kind of sacred background against which a new being was born. It's hard to believe now, but it's true.

After the adoption of Christianity, the sacred content of Maslenitsa practically disappeared, only its external surroundings and the gaiety that we know from the works of pre-revolutionary writers remained.

When did they start celebrating Maslenitsa?

Some people still celebrate Maslenitsa in pagan style.
The holiday has its historical roots far back in ancient times, and was celebrated long before the baptism of Russia in 988. There are analogues of Maslenitsa throughout Europe.

Interesting fact : Vastlavia or Scandinavian carnival is celebrated in Denmark, Latvia, Norway, Estonia, instead of pancakes there are delicious buns with fillings. In Slovenia there is Kurentovanje, when winter is banished, and in Croatia there is Zvoncari, in which young guys put on skins, masks and horns and “scare” the cold season.

At first, Maslenitsa was only a pagan holiday and had a huge sacred meaning. The Earth was resurrected, fire came to Earth and awakened the goddess of fertility and love - Lelya. Everything was beautiful, romantic and extremely popular among the people. For the Slavs, this was actually a celebration of the New Year, because it began for them in March. And in the 16th century the current name of the holiday came, it was then that it became Orthodox, although it retained some features of the past.

It was impossible to eat meat, but you could butter pancakes and consume dairy products, since Lent had not yet begun. It was then that the holiday acquired a more modern look and began to enjoy great popularity both among the common people and the nobility.

Let's talk about Maslenitsa

Boris Kustodiev. Maslenitsa

Nowadays, oilseed celebrations are taking place everywhere.

On the one hand, this is a holiday of the coming spring, a good time to go on a visit, meet with friends and family, have fun... True, this holiday sometimes leads to gastronomic excesses, often acquires elements of pagan revelry, and for some it gives an excuse to simply get really drunk .

On the other hand, Maslenitsa is a preparatory week for Lent, and even the semi-fast days themselves, when meat products are excluded from the diet, when the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated on Wednesday and Friday and the repentant prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.

We asked the shepherds to express their opinion about Maslenitsa, to answer the question: how should we relate to this paradox, this antinomy of the holiday and the beginning of fasting? How can a Christian spend these days correctly?

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Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov),
abbot of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery:

– For me, Maslenitsa has always been perceived as a long-awaited and very joyful time. And the fact that people meet these days and have feasts - I don’t see any particular trouble or sin in this.

Feast, pancakes - this is also not without reason! The meaning of Maslenitsa, of course, is not riotous festivities and riots. This is obvious, and for a Christian it requires neither explanation nor boring denunciations. The special meaning of Maslenitsa in very recent times, when there were no telephones or e-mail, was so that people, during the week preceding Forgiveness Sunday and Lent, had time to go and visit their close and distant friends and relatives, to ask each other's forgiveness. And having reconciled, having asked for forgiveness, how can one not sit down to a feast? After all, quite recently everyone heard in the church the Gospel reading about Zacchaeus, who, having repented, with all his heart, arranged a treat for the Savior and for his friends. Or the parable of the prodigal son, about the happiness of reconciliation and forgiveness: “... bring the fatted calf and kill it; Let's eat and have fun! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found. And they began to have fun” (Luke 15:23). Only instead of calf during Meat Week we have pancakes.

All this is so vivid, understandable to every person, so natural that, frankly, it is always a little surprising to see excessive moralizing about Maslenitsa these days.
I am sure that for the majority of Orthodox Christians this entire coming week, which will include Lenten services on Wednesday and Friday, and friendly communication, and forgiveness of offenses, and hospitable feasts, will all reveal a special, unique and joyful holiday of anticipation , preparation for Lent. Hegumen Peter (Eremeev)
(rector of the Russian Orthodox University; rector of the Church of St. John the Theologian - Patriarchal Metochion in Kitai-Gorod):

– The church celebration of Maslenitsa has enormous missionary and educational potential.

80 years of militant materialism in our country hit both Orthodox spirituality and folk culture at once, despite all the conventionality of this division. And if in pre-revolutionary times we really observed how individual church holidays in everyday life were intertwined with sometimes wild folk traditions that had connections with the pagan past of the Slavic tribes, now there is no need to talk about this. Of course, the bad thing is that our compatriots have practically erased their historical memory and completely lost their tradition. But this is precisely what allows us today to churchize folk traditions and customs reconstructed almost from scratch, using the enormous cultural potential of Orthodoxy.

Maslenitsa is a wonderful week. Each Christian must decide for himself how much he can participate in Maslenitsa entertainments, how relevant they are at the moment for his spiritual life. Communicating with relatives and friends at the holiday table will not harm anyone: there is an opportunity to meet, try to understand another, reconcile with someone, in order to enter into fasting with a clear soul and a clear conscience. Maslenitsa provides parents with a wonderful opportunity to give their children the joy of the holiday. A holiday on the street is generally a great opportunity to get out of your apartments, finally meet your neighbors, and feel like a member of a large human family.

I am convinced that now we, priests, must do everything to ensure that the center of the celebration of Maslenitsa becomes the temple, the cathedral square. This is already happening in many cities today. Several years ago I was struck by the experience of the Birobidzhan diocese, which headed the preparation and holding of Maslenitsa in the cathedral city and coped with this role brilliantly. Today, by and large, there is no one except the Church to organize a national holiday so that it turns out not vulgar, not primitive.

If we do not do this, if the Church, represented by the clergy and active laity, does not begin to deal with the topic of folk customs and traditions, then some neo-pagans or other empty-headed preachers will do this.
We live in an era of incredible opportunity and great responsibility. Today we can make the celebration of Maslenitsa truly Christian or, conversely, completely lose the opportunity to do this. Hieromonk Macarius (Markish)
(Ivanovo-Voznesensk diocese; teacher at Ivanovo-Voznesensk Theological Seminary):

– We need to look at Maslenitsa from a broader perspective – and then everything falls into place.

Yes, of course, a colossal amount of all sorts of abuses, stupidity, outright madness, wickedness and unbelief... But are these specific features of Maslenitsa?
No, these are simply the properties of the current para-church, pseudo-church, superstitious and meaningless life (however, not only the current one!). The properties are very bad. But the breeze of optimism brings hope: the more often people hear about Maslenitsa and related items, the more and more likely they will pay attention to the future. If they pay attention, they will think. Thinking about it, they will understand or feel something. And they will get down to business... Hieromonk Simeon (Tomachinsky)
(resident of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery, head of the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery):

– Unfortunately, with all the abundance of civil and church “red days of the calendar”, we often do not know how to celebrate or have fun. This is an entire art that is worth learning. But, for example, a person who does not fast will never understand and appreciate such events as beginning and breaking the fast - not only in a gastronomic sense, but generally as a state of mind. After all, it is fasting that gives the holidays associated with it a special value and a unique aroma...

One famous Moscow priest once said that during Maslenitsa you should eat so many pancakes that later the very sight of a pancake would cause disgust. This is probably something like “mortification of the flesh,” about which much has been written in ascetic literature.

But this is also a good reason to visit relatives or friends with whom in the hustle and bustle of ordinary life it is not possible to sit and talk calmly. This is also the last warm-up before the Lenten marathon. An opportunity to gather your thoughts, your strength, your spirit.

“Pokurguzka, lyuli, pokurguzka” - this is how folk songs mourn the shortness of Maslenitsa days, after which “it will become thick,” that is, sad.
However, in fact, it’s great that “not everything is Maslenitsa for the cat.” Because “a time for every thing under the sun... a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:1-4). Archpriest Dimitry Moiseev
(candidate of theology, teacher at Kaluga Theological Seminary):

– In fact, this is not a paradox. The fact is that for a Christian, liturgical life is the main element of preparation for Lent. Accordingly, an Orthodox Christian, of course, must attend services on these days. Moreover, they are of a special nature. At the same time, before Great Lent, a Christian is given relaxation regarding food, that is, consolation at the meal. At the same time, Maslenitsa is not a reason to overeat to the limit, so that you don’t want to eat until Easter. It still won't work. The meal charter for Maslenitsa is a consolation for those who pray, attend services and seriously prepare for Lent.

Burning a Maslenitsa effigy and climbing a pole are purely pagan relics. It is better for an Orthodox person not to go to these folk festivals. They have nothing to do with Christianity.

Another question is that not everyone is able to immediately switch completely to a Christian way of life. And if such a person is going to fast during Great Lent, that is, to pay more serious attention to his soul, then, of course, you can show him leniency and not scold him for celebrating Maslenitsa.

Again, the celebration should be reasonable: one should spend time not in drunkenness, not in overeating, but in some fairly harmless entertainment and amusement, because during Lent all this will be generally unacceptable. I think that as each Christian grows spiritually, he will gradually abandon such purely worldly, secular amusements at Maslenitsa and increasingly understand the spiritual meaning of this preparatory week. After all, Cheese Week (Maslenitsa) takes place between the weeks (Sundays) of the Last Judgment and the remembrance of Adam’s exile. That is, the two Sundays that frame Maslenitsa tell us about rather serious events in the history of mankind, which are not particularly conducive to fun.

Here it is impossible to approach each person with one standard, but the vector of movement must be clear. We need to strive to ensure that entertainment takes up less and less of a person’s attention, and that worship and a serious attitude towards prayer and fasting occupy more and more.

On Cheese Week, of course, you can hold cultural events, creative evenings of Orthodox content, if we are talking about getting away from crude entertainment and amusements and gradually coming to the spiritual through the spiritual.

Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov
Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov
(rector of the Moscow Church in honor of All Saints of the former Alekseevsky Monastery in Krasnoye Selo):

Maslenitsa, or Cheese Week, is the last week before Lent. In preparation for it, Christians no longer eat meat at Shrovetide, but eat dairy (including on Wednesday and Friday).

Many find it difficult to combine the cheerful, hospitable feasts of Maslenitsa with the thought of the Last Judgment of the Lord that permeates the church services of these days. Others see the Russian tradition of baking pancakes as almost rudiments of pagan self-awareness. We hasten to dispel this imaginary contradiction. The fact is that you need to prepare for a meeting with the Lover of Mankind, Christ, by performing six works of gospel mercy: giving a drink to the thirsty, feeding the hungry, bringing a stranger into the house, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and visiting the one languishing in prison.

Maslenitsa, with its Russian hospitality, gives us the opportunity to work in active charity.
A common meal has the ability to soften and reconcile hearts. But it is no coincidence that the last Sunday before Lent is called Forgiveness! Let us prepare for it by mutually forgiving and consoling all near and far for the glory of God! Archpriest Dimitry Mertsev
(chairman of the jury of the Kuban Orthodox Film Festival “Veche Bell”):

– Despite the fact that in our time Maslenitsa is more of an ethnography, a folk tradition that does not have pagan ritual significance, nevertheless it has nothing to do with Christianity.

It is necessary to spend Maslenitsa (or, more accurately, Cheese, or meat-eating) week in the dynamic mood of repentance, and this dynamic is precisely given by the church charter. The Church is already preparing us ahead of time for Lent with the Gospel parables about the publican and the Pharisee, about the prodigal son and, finally, a reminder of the Last Judgment. And although during the week we still taste the humble meal about the publican and the Pharisee, the Church is already reminding us that we must tune in to such a prayer as the publican’s in order for it to be accepted by God. In this sense, Maslenitsa does not exclude moderate fun, and at the same time it is already illuminated by the approach of Lent. During this period, Orthodox Christians can, for example, spend a literary and musical evening: read poetry with Christian content, listen to spiritual chants with a mood of repentance (for example, the ballad about Kudeyar - about the twelve thieves). This kind of entertainment before Lent is quite appropriate.

The attitude of non-church people towards this holiday is known: “Soon a merry feast will boil with the bell of Maslenitsa...” However, it is unacceptable for believers on Maslenitsa to participate in general revelry, overeating and drunkenness. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk said: “Shame covers my face when I talk about how Orthodox Christians celebrate Maslenitsa.”

In this week, the last before Great Lent, it would be good to remember the advice of St. Sergius of Radonezh: “Keep abstinence.” The beginning of fasting is unthinkable without the physical preparation that the Orthodox Church offers us. Monday of the 1st week of Lent is called Clean Monday: a clear conscience, a pure soul - because it was Forgiveness Sunday. You also need to be clean in body, if a person is God’s, therefore there must be abstinence. According to the words of the holy fathers, Lent is the spring of the spirit, because when we limit ourselves physically, our spirit blossoms. Those who have tasted this joy of Lent already treasure these days and look forward to them. Only an intemperate soul, a person who pleases his flesh, perceives fasting as something painful. When a person adheres to the church rules, is imbued with the spirit of worship, and prepares himself for entering the Pentecostal period, then those restrictions that are associated with the Lenten period are perceived organically by him.

The Church, in relation to its children, has a maternal character. This is both tenderness and severity of pedagogy to bring us to Christ. The Church always gives us gradualism in everything. While the gradual introduction into the forms of repentance through church services has already begun (“Open the doors of repentance for me...”, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life...”), the opportunity is still given to strengthen oneself with modest food, and only then comes Great Lent.

There are people who have the skill of fasting: it is easy for them, they enter into Lent with joy. And there are those who are just beginning to become churchgoers: it is difficult for them, and the Church leads them very kindly and tenderly. As St. Seraphim of Sarov said, “a person cannot embark on a feat until he purifies his feelings,” therefore, we should not perceive Lent as only restrictions and prohibitions. This, on the one hand, is asceticism, which limits our physicality, and on the other, the special nature of worship, which elevates the soul. And one complements the other.

This is how a loving mother acts towards her child: she caresses and scolds, gives some visible task and makes sure that the child obeys.
The Church leads us in the same way. I think that the antinomy that exists and is clearly expressed on Maslenitsa days is explained by this character. Priest Alexy Zaitsev
(cleric of the Holy Trinity Church in Chelyabinsk, member of the Union of Writers of Russia, member of the International Club of Orthodox Writers “Omilia”):

– The history of Maslenitsa celebrations in the life of the Russian people goes back several centuries. Speaking about Maslenitsa (more precisely, Cheese Week), we must remember: initially there were two fundamentally different traditions of spending this special time of year, which can be conditionally designated as follows: “purely church” and “purely secular”.

Those who followed church tradition perceived the last week before Lent as the most important stage of preparation for it. Believers understood: if these days were spent in excessive pleasures and amusements, Lent would be disrupted for them. In the bosom of the Holy Church, the liturgical practice of preparing for Cheese Week in prayer and repentance has developed.

We remember from Russian history that Lenten days left an imprint on the way of life of all citizens of the Russian state, including those people who did not have a deep religious feeling and did not even belong to Orthodoxy at all. Therefore, secular tradition saw Maslenitsa as those days when one could let off the “last steam” and have plenty of fun before the onset of Lent. It was this tradition that formed the basis of Maslenitsa festivities in pre-revolutionary Russia with their fist fights (where they could kill for fun), drunkenness, gluttony and debauchery. The church and state authorities tried to resist the riotous component of the pre-Lenten days, but this was not always successful. With the impoverishment of faith among the Russian people, Maslenitsa festivities acquired an increasingly immoral character and elements of paganism began to appear more and more clearly in them. If a person does not need Lent, then in Maslenitsa he will seek joy only for the flesh.

It is worth noting that for every Christian, Maslenitsa is the time when one should settle one’s worldly affairs, hold the necessary social meetings in order to devote the days of Lent exclusively to caring for the healing of one’s soul.
I repeat, it is wiser to solve your worldly problems before the beginning of Lent, rather than address them in its very first and most important days. However, I am sure: a true Orthodox Christian will find spiritual strength and wisdom in himself so as not to get carried away by excessively worldly concerns and not deprive himself of the invaluable time of Lent for spiritual growth. Priest Pavel Gumerov:
– For many pagan peoples, the transition from winter to spring was accompanied by certain religious rituals and celebrations. This was the case in Rus'. The transition from hibernation to spring rebirth was marked by a holiday called Komoeditsa or Maslenitsa.

The Church did not always completely abolish folk pagan traditions and holidays, realizing that simply prohibitive measures were ineffective, but often replaced pagan holidays with Christian ones and, as it were, churched folk customs, giving them a completely different meaning. So it was with radonitsa, and with the custom of caroling, and with the same Maslenitsa. The Church timed Maslenitsa to coincide with the Cheese preparatory week before Lent, removing the pagan meaning and replacing it with new Christian content.

For Orthodox Christians, Cheese Week, Maslenitsa, is a week of smooth transition to fasting. And even a meal, already devoid of meat foods, reminds us of this. It is dedicated to the memory of the Last Judgment. On Tuesday of this week, during the evening service in churches, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is already read, “Lord and Master of my life...”, and, of course, revelry and drunken fun are absolutely incompatible with the meaning that the Church puts into this preparatory week. We, of course, do not deny reasonable, moderate fun at Maslenitsa. We go to visit each other, eat pancakes and save up strength before fasting.

But, unfortunately, we have to observe that not everyone observes the measure, and many spend Cheese Week in a completely pagan way. I am not talking about those people who do not fast - for them there is no concept of preparation for fasting. They can burn a Maslenitsa effigy, and then go to the Easter religious procession with the same interest. Both are good, in their opinion. No, I mean Orthodox church people who sometimes do not think about the fact that riotous fun, gluttony and drunkenness are unacceptable on Shrovetide week (all these “bad excesses” are unacceptable, however, on any other days of the year). Unfortunately, this formula is very typical for us: either everything or nothing. And, by the way, not only in modern de-churched Russia, but this was also the case before the revolution. Not everyone knew the limits and held back in the Maslenitsa revelry. As Dostoevsky said, “Russian people are broad, I would narrow them down.” One can also recall another character of Fyodor Mikhailovich - Mitya Karamazov, about whom it was said that he could contemplate, as it were, two abysses: vice and virtue.

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

Fasting is a school of abstinence and moderation in everything. During Lent and other fasts, we must learn to subordinate the aspirations of our flesh to the spirit, to control our desires and desires, so that, having mastered this science, we can observe reasonable moderation and abstinence from sin in everyday life. And if after fasting we give ourselves complete freedom, let go of the reins - break our fast without measure, and then also start fasting immoderately before a new fast, then we have not learned anything during fasting.

I remember one of my acquaintances who fasted very diligently, ate almost nothing during the first and Holy Weeks of Great Lent, but then after Easter he could go on a binge. And again it turns out that we are not the masters of our instincts and aspirations, but they subjugate us to themselves.

God grant that the coming fast will teach us at least a little about abstinence and serve spiritual and physical benefits.
Archpriest Andrey Tkachev
(rector of the Church of St. Agapit of Pechersk in Kiev):

- Man is a fallen creature. If he wants to invade, to break into the spiritual world, then these “beautiful impulses of the soul” will initially lead not to pure spirituality, but to a world of substitutions and inversions, to counterfeits of holiness, to a world of tinted lies.

This idea runs like a red thread through all the works of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). He bequeathed it, as one of the real treasures, to the coming centuries with their increasing poverty and multiplying illusions.

Paganism never died “to the end.” In a world where flesh and spirit are opposed to each other, where the flesh has not yet been transformed, it is warm and cozy for paganism to hide in that part of life where the flesh is the undivided mistress. Neither poverty, nor wealth, nor the rudeness of life, nor the subtleties of enlightenment are an obstacle to paganism. A person with two higher educations is just as capable of running to his “grandmother” for magical help as a poorly educated peasant. The twilight, magical consciousness is capable of interpreting and reinterpreting everything to suit itself, capable of adding its own fly in the ointment to any amount of honey, destroying the value of the latter.

This, it seems to me, also applies to Maslenitsa. There was no shame in celebrating it in the sense of saying goodbye to winter and welcoming the long-awaited warmth of spring even during the years of state-atheistic ideology. There we were not talking about preparing for Lent and gradually giving up fast food. The meaning of the Gospel readings about the prodigal son, the Last Judgment and Adam's exile was not explained to the walking masses. Instead, hot pancakes and vodka, especially tasty in the cold, the burning of an effigy, the sounds of an accordion, sliding down slides, women’s squeals, skates, the bells of the distant troika were presented as “ours”, “native”... - in a word, everything that goes into the concept of “a la russe” and Mikhalkov’s style of “The Barber of Siberia”. Yes, that’s okay.

There is a place and time in life for healthy laughter, jokes and delicious food. Just call it by its proper name, and not “spiritual revival” or “return of traditions.”

Here paganism does not sleep, but shows marvelous agility in the era of information technology. It offers everyone its vision of the meaning of Maslenitsa with the symbolism of the increasing day, pancakes shaped like the sun, etc.

The Church spent centuries on the churching of the pagan calendar and folk rituals. To the end, as has already been said, paganism never died. Now it will be ready at any moment, having decorated its head, depending on the season, with either a mermaid’s wreath or a buffoon’s hat, to appear at a folk festival and offer its own version of understanding the world. Reflecting pagan attacks on the historical Church will now be one of, if not the most difficult, then the most constant occupations of church apologists.

So there is no need to be smart about Maslenitsa.

This is a week-long period of time when meat is no longer eaten, and fasting on dairy foods is canceled on Wednesday and Friday. This is the time when on Wednesday and Friday services in the church are performed according to fasting order, and the liturgy is not served. Maybe in the old days, for the hard-working peasant, this was a time of rare fun, mixed with riotousness, eating and drinking from the belly and fist fight. Maybe this was some kind of folk therapy for the dim soul of a tired person. But now is a different time and different tasks.

You can’t breathe before you die, and you can’t get enough before fasting. Modernity is noisy even without Maslenitsa. She, modernity, believes the meaning of life is to escape from reality and to constantly change impressions.

For us, this should be a time of gathering thoughts around the upcoming fast. And fasting itself should be perceived as a time of intelligent war for personal immortality in Christ, as a time of abstinence in bread and abundant nutrition “with every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

When does it start and how long does it last?

Maslenitsa does not have a fixed date, and is celebrated strictly 8 weeks before Easter. Lent will begin in seven “weeks”, and a few days before it you can have noisy fun and taste earthly blessings, paying tribute to mortal interests and small human weaknesses before the upcoming mental and physical cleansing. According to current canons, it lasts 7 days, from Monday to Sunday. Now these are not two-week celebrations before and after the spring equinox, as was the case among the ancient Slavs.

What date is Maslenitsa in 2021

This year Maslenitsa began on March 8th and by chance the beginning of one holiday coincided with another.

Why am I talking about random coincidence? Yes, because if Women's Day is traditionally celebrated on March 8, then the beginning and end of Maslenitsa does not have an exact date.

Maslenitsa week, which began on the 8th, lasted until March 14th. In general, the beginning of Maslenitsa depends on the day when the Orthodox Christian world celebrates the Great Easter holiday.

You need to subtract 56 days from the date of Easter, 48 of which fall during Lent and another 7 days.

The week (7 days) falls on a wide, riotous and hospitable holiday, popularly called “Kasatochka”, “Sugar Mouth”, “Kissing Day”, “Honest Maslenitsa”, “Merry”, “Obyedha”, “Yasochka”...

Agree, it is customary to call the most beloved, desired and dear ones with such affectionate and gentle words.

When asked about the date of Maslenitsa 2021 according to the Slavic calendar, read the text of the article below. By the way, according to this calendar we live in Summer 7528.

So why did Maslenitsa gain such popular love and occupy a special place among the holidays?

Why do they burn an effigy on Maslenitsa?

Burning an effigy on Maslenitsa
Initially, the burning of an effigy among the pagans meant renewal, a kind of cleansing and death of everything bad, and then the revival of something new.
Since it was the arrival of the new year, this was a symbolic gesture when all the bad things remained in the old time period, and the good things, along with the spring Sun, remained with those celebrating. You can compare such a stuffed animal with the fabulous Phoenix bird, which underwent purification by fire in order to be reborn again and become even stronger and more attractive. And the harvest after the burning should have been good, only the ashes had to be scattered across the fields.

Food on Maslenitsa

Particular attention was paid to food on this holiday. The most important dish on the table was pancakes, but this is by no means the entire list of dishes that Maslenitsa brought. Rituals and traditions involved the preparation of a variety of pies and flatbreads, pancakes, cheesecakes, oat and cranberry jelly, and scrambled eggs. One of the most important dishes was the high-calorie cheesecake, which consisted of layers of cottage cheese and butter.

They also remembered the dead. At night, all the food was left on the table for the “parents” to feast on, so that the souls of the deceased would not harbor a grudge. It was believed that they could both contribute to an increase in livestock and an excellent harvest, and destroy all human labor.

Why are pancakes baked on Maslenitsa?

In ancient traditions, pancake is a funeral dish, and this is how the Slavs honored the memory of the deceased. Therefore, the question is still debatable - to whom should the first of them be given? “KomAm”, that is, for bears, in order to appease them, with memorial purposes in memory of ancestors or the head of the family - these are three options for primacy. Interestingly, the pancake became a symbol of Maslenitsa itself only in the 19th century, and it signifies the Sun. The luminary was previously present in pagan holidays, because it was it that melted the snow and awakened the goddess Lelya. And the appearance of a ruddy and buttery pancake, of course, looks like a hot spring Sun.

Pancakes for Maslenitsa are considered the main delicacy

Interesting fact : in Great Britain, where they also celebrate an analogue of Maslenitsa, a pancake of record size was baked in 1994. But the Belarusians went even further, and in 2021 the world was presented with a two-meter-diameter potato pancake, the production of which took 30 kg of potatoes.

Pancakes come in different types - thick and thin, with kefir, milk, sweet, meat and fish. But in honor of the name of this celebration, housewives usually bake round flour dishes and season them with butter.

Maslenitsa traditions

The main symbol of Maslenitsa is pancakes, because their shape and color are similar to the sun, which is increasingly appearing in the sky, already warming with its rays and awakening life after a long winter.

Each day of Maslenitsa has its own name and traditions: Monday - “ Meeting ” (food is prepared for the festive table and a Maslenitsa effigy, which is burned on the last day of the week), Tuesday - “ Flirting ” (Maslenitsa festivities and gatherings with pancakes begin), Wednesday - “Maslenitsa” Gourmand " (married daughters with their husbands and friends are invited to visit for pancakes, hence the saying - "To the mother-in-law for pancakes"), Thursday - " Razgulyay " (the beginning of the wide Maslenitsa with folk festivities), Friday - " Mother-in-law's evening " (mother-in-law comes to guests to their son-in-law and daughter), Saturday - “ Sister-in-law’s gatherings ” (young women who have recently married are treated to pancakes), the last day of Maslenitsa - Forgiveness Sunday , or “ Kisser ” (they ask forgiveness for all voluntary or involuntary insults, kissing while In the evening they traditionally burn an effigy of Maslenitsa, saying goodbye to winter until next year).

The history of the holiday - how did Maslenitsa appear?

Historians still argue which god was “main” on Maslenitsa: Yarilo, who commanded the energy of the Sun and brought spring, or Veles, who promoted the fertility of livestock. But if we accept the dominant version of the historical interpretation, then this holiday still fell on the week before and after the spring equinox on March 21-22. Beliefs said that the better to celebrate it, the more fun, the more spectacular the burning of an effigy, the better the harvest. With the advent of Christianity, which was at first wary of pagan rites, the holiday continued to be celebrated anyway. And by the beginning of the 17th century, it had already become Orthodox, began 56 days before Lent and lasted for a week. Also, the holiday became even more fun and joyful.

Interesting fact : Peter the Great rode through the streets of the new capital city on a horse-drawn ship. Elizaveta Petrovna, his daughter, ate two dozen pancakes on Maslenitsa. And Catherine the Second organized mass costumed processions, in which 200-400 people took part. So the scope of the celebration was great.

They continued to celebrate in Rus' on this holiday, and today the tradition continues to live. And since the 19th century, the tradition of fist fights has appeared. It came from pagan beliefs about the connection between Maslenitsa and the future harvest. According to legend, the strength of the participants in the confrontations passed to wheat. Only stately guys took part in round dances, and this, according to legend, contributed to the growth of flax. And feasting during this period of time increased the offspring of livestock. So this is a holiday in which many Russian folk beliefs are closely intertwined.

Interesting: Why does the train reverse before it starts moving?

Questions about Maslenitsa: how does the Church look at the pagan side of this week?

How does the Church view the pagan ritual side of this week?

Is it even possible for Christians to participate in mass celebrations on Maslenitsa?

It’s hardly possible to answer unequivocally, and here’s why.

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

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

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

Well, is it possible for Christians to participate in mass celebrations? 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 with 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 the bow and pull the string to the limit. The archer was indignant and said that the bowstring would certainly burst if it was pulled too tight. To this the elder replied:

“If, while conversing with our brothers, we strain the string beyond their measure, they will soon break.” So we need to show them a little leniency for once.

It is clear that Anthony’s monks rarely laughed. But if even monks, tempered 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 spent in the spirit of love and kindness, then there is nothing wrong when a person has fun on a snow slide, skating rink, at a party or at home. It is very important that the holiday unites and not separates. So that it is associated with both visiting the suffering and giving warmth to those who do not receive enough of it.

But anything can be perverted... And if a person knows that where he is going there will be libations, overeating (by the way, this is one of the popular names for Maslenitsa) and other obscenities, then, of course, it is definitely sinful to participate in them.

What can and cannot be done on Maslenitsa?

Fun and features of Maslenitsa

Fun and features of Maslenitsa

Fun and features of Maslenitsa

Fun and features of Maslenitsa

Fun and features of Maslenitsa

On the holiday, you cannot eat meat and products made from it. This is a kind of preparation for Lent, which will follow Maslenitsa week. But you can:

• eat pancakes and other foods such as fish and cheese;
• participate in fist fights;
• ride a sleigh and climb a pole for a prize;
• swim in an ice hole;
• burn the effigy of Winter.

Anyone who does not rejoice on Maslenitsa risks living the next year dull and sad.

Rules for conducting ceremonies and rituals

During the celebration of Maslenitsa, winter meets spring, therefore preparation for magical actions involves getting rid of the old and cold, spiritual cleansing for everything new. Preparation involves a few simple steps:

• Before the start of Maslenitsa, the home is thoroughly cleaned and decorated. Some people throw away all their old clothes and shoes.
• Festive clothing and decorations are carefully selected.
• All rituals and ceremonies are thought out in advance in order to prepare the necessary ritual items.
• Preparing the home is accompanied by prayers for peace and harmony in the house.

To increase energy when performing magical actions, it is worth visiting the cemetery and remembering your departed ancestors.

Each day of the week on Maslenitsa has its own meaning, therefore actions are carried out according to the symbolism:

On Forgiveness Sunday, all the listed rituals and conspiracies are not carried out during the day, there is general fun and festivities. You can only retire before bed.

Maslenitsa week

It was believed that one must live the days during Maslenitsa in such a way that later there would be no excruciating pain from lost time. Each of them has its own purpose.

Monday

This is the day of the holiday, when a stuffed figure of the annoying Winter was made from straw, and then carried on a sleigh. Then they placed the future center of attraction for Maslenitsa festivities on the mountain in order to return to it on Sunday and burn it. On Monday it was customary to go sledding from the mountains.

Tuesday

During Maslenitsa, people specially dress up and distribute goodies to the participants of the holiday.
In another way, it was called “flirt”. Numerous mummers appeared everywhere, buffoon performances were held on the streets, puppet theaters with the beloved hero Petrushka entertained people. People rode sleighs joyfully through the streets; it was customary to go to the houses of relatives, friends and acquaintances, where concerts were held with the participation of amateur artists, which made it even more joyful. It was on Tuesday that bear games were most popular. Trained animals performed tricks.

Wednesday

Wednesday could be called a day of gluttony, when a wide variety of pancakes were served everywhere: on the streets and in houses. They also served various drinks; gingerbread and nuts were sold everywhere, and fragrant tea was poured from samovars.

Thursday

Razgulyay was the name of the day, which was marked by round dances, chants, and snowball fights. Not all the fun was harmless; on Thursday there were fierce wall-to-wall fist fights.

Friday

Friday was called “mother-in-law’s evening.” On Wednesday they came to their parents, and by the end of the week the wife’s mother and her husband were heading to their son-in-law’s family. True, the mother-in-law had to send everything for cooking in advance - a ladle, a frying pan, a taganok and other accessories, and the father-in-law would send a bag of flour and an eggplant of butter. If respectable parents were not invited to their son-in-law's house on Friday, this led to a sharp deterioration in relations. Therefore, they invited the mother-in-law in the morning with the help of friends or children.

If families have recently become related, then two visits were necessarily planned for Maslenitsa week - your own and relatives on the wife’s or husband’s side. They also often came on Fridays to visit those who had taken part in recent wedding celebrations, and did so on beautiful painted sleighs.

Saturday

In another way, the day is called “sisters-in-law’s gatherings,” and it meant that daughters-in-law invited their sisters-in-law. Even on Saturday, they traditionally commemorated deceased relatives, and here the sacred meaning of pancakes came in handy.

Sunday

This is the crown of the holiday. This day is also called “forgiveness”, because according to Christian custom, people apologize to each other, especially to loved ones. On this day, it was time to return to the effigy of Winter, erected on the mountain, and solemnly burn it. It is also customary to throw leftover pancakes and other treats into the fire. At the same time, the children were told that all the delicious food had burned, and now they would have to do without it, because Lent was coming.

Marriage and family rituals

Judging by the names of the days: "Gourmet" on Wednesday, sister-in-law's gatherings on Saturday, mother-in-law's party on Friday - Maslenitsa was regarded as a women's festival. Every housewife wanted to surprise her family with unique pancakes, the recipe of which she did not tell anyone. But one thing was common in their baking: they certainly had to be loose, fluffy, yellow, and tasty.

Ethnographers consider marriage and family customs to be the first most important set of Maslenitsa rituals. They explained that friendly family relationships help the earth to awaken from winter hibernation and the growth and flowering of plants, which was the basis for a future good harvest.

The newlyweds were given a viewing party. They were placed at the gate near a pillar and forced to kiss many times in front of the entire crowd. Peasant women married for only a year were subjected to more difficult tests. Harnessed to a sleigh, loudly singing songs and telling jokes, they were forced to ride their friends around the village.

On Friday, the mother-in-law invited her young son-in-law to visit “for pancakes.” She treated him, affectionately saying “butter,” lubricating his head with cow butter so that he would be gentle with his wife and obedient to her.

Another traditional Maslenitsa ritual is the punishment of single guys. Guys who were not married before Maslenitsa had stocks hung around their necks. Those punished had a log tied around their necks, symbolizing the “half” sitting on the neck. They walked with this missing “couple” all day until the evening and were subjected to endless ridicule.

And on the day of forgiveness - on Sunday, Maslenitsa was completed with a marriage and family ceremony, the purpose of which was to reconcile quarreling relatives and consolidate ideal relationships. On the day of forgiveness, they tried to finish everything they had cooked and distribute it to the poor. On this day, the ashes of relatives were worshiped in cemeteries, leaving pancakes on their graves.

Traditions and customs

Round dances around a scarecrow are one of the funs of the holiday.
Over its centuries-old existence, Maslenitsa has acquired many traditions and customs. Its celebration itself, held 56 days before Easter and lasting a week, is an established custom. The Maslenitsa order of actions is also very clear and detailed day by day - from the meeting on Monday with the production and hoisting of the effigy of Winter on a hill, to its symbolic burning on Sunday.

But there are a lot of traditions for Maslenitsa:

• eating golden brown pancakes;
• downhill and sleigh rides;
• fist fights;
• bear fun;
• performances and joke concerts.

Everything that fills a cheerful and noisy holiday, celebrated according to centuries-old custom, is a adherence to traditions that have been established over many years.

Modern Maslenitsa

The oldest Slavic holiday has survived to this day, having lost much of its pagan component, while being filled with new content and new meanings dictated by time.

Maslenitsa owes such vitality to many of its customs and traditions, timeless and in tune with the mental state of people of any era.

In my opinion, the origin of modern Maslenitsa traditions began from the time of Peter I.

The first reforms of Peter I.

Peter I, in the figurative expression of A.S. Pushkin “Russia was raised on its hind legs.” Or on the rack? Let me ask you this question.

Peter's very first reforms, aimed at changing the external signs of Russian life, affected not only beards and clothes. They hit the original Russian way of life and ricocheted through customs, traditions and holidays.

One of the first decrees

Peter I approved the calendar from the Nativity of Christ and the celebration of the New Year on January 1st. The decree was given a new date: December 20, 1699.

I do not set myself the task of assessing the reform activities of Peter I today, as they say: “every double-edged sword”...

I’m just indignant that with one stroke of the pen, more than 5 thousand years of history and culture of a great people were trampled upon, the bright and holy names of our ancestors were consigned to oblivion, and the rewriting of the history of Russia began.

I know one thing: you shouldn’t turn into “Ivans who don’t remember their kinship.” You need to know your roots and your origins. We have something to be proud of in our history and modernity.

Maslenitsa also experienced a calendar postponement of the holiday. The thing is that the days of the spring solstice fall just during Lent. At the insistence of the church, the celebration was postponed a month ago and this was not the best decision for the holiday.

So in 1724, due to severe frosts, Peter I himself was unable to hold a huge masquerade and sleigh procession organized by him. The Russian frost did not allow us to celebrate Maslenitsa.

Cheese week

The Orthodox Church does not consider Maslenitsa its (church) holiday and this day is not marked in any way in the church calendar. However, being unable to cancel public festivities and prevent the celebration of welcoming spring, the church began to consider Maslenitsa week as a time of preparation for the long Lent. And she called this week Cheese Week.

The modern celebration of Maslenitsa is dominated by its entertainment part with round dances, bonfires, pancakes and invitations to visit.

True, some of its sacred meanings have been preserved, albeit modified.

• The beginning of Maslenitsa is preceded by Ecumenical Parental Saturday. . ..Lord, hear our prayers for our parents who left this earth and went to Your Kingdom, where there is eternal life. Only You are able to console our grieving souls.

(from the funeral prayer),

• During Cheese Week, a restriction on eating meat is introduced, which begins in the previous - Meat Week.
• The semi-lenten meal on Maslenitsa reminds Christians of the imminent fast and makes them think about spiritual food,
• On Tuesday of Maslenitsa week, a prayer of repentance is read in churches and further revelry is already considered a sin.

Farewell to Maslenitsa

This is the apotheosis and culmination of the holiday. In some provinces, hundreds of horses were harnessed to the Maslenitsa cart that carried the effigy of Winter to the places where it was burned. Funeral food was thrown into the huge fire that flared up. In a number of places in the country, the effigy was not burned, but buried, and sometimes a cavalcade of horses carrying it to the place of burning imitated a funeral procession with a mummered priest and mourners.

The farewell ends with the burning of an effigy

And they said goodbye to Maslenitsa on Monday, when Lent began. It was called “clean” because everyone went to the bathhouse, and the women scrubbed the dishes until they shined, freeing them from residues and the slightest traces of food. This is how they began to be cleansed from sin.

Funeral rites

They are associated with burning the Maslenitsa effigy, baking pancakes and preparing various funeral foods. Traditionally, fish was prepared, which in folk culture was commensurate with the souls of the dead through its muteness. Snow was used for fortune telling, considering it also the personification of the souls of the deceased, and melted snow water was poured into buckwheat flour for pancakes.

The funeral rituals were associated with prohibitions on women's types of work, such as weaving, spinning, etc.

These strange prohibitions in ancient times were observed out of fear of accidentally causing harm to the intangibly present nearby souls of relatives of deceased ancestors. These prohibitions were especially believed in the evening; because of this, all evening hours during Maslenitsa week were considered holy.

Failure to comply with the prohibitions could lead to a lot of misfortunes and misfortunes.

The Maslenitsa bonfire also belongs to the memorial rite, because on the eve of Lent it serves as a kind of invitation to a rich dinner of deceased ancestors

That is, the purpose of the ancient Russian Maslenitsa was to appease the spirits for all subsequent days of the year.

Maslenitsa in the Soviet era

When the revolution happened, and then the civil war happened, Maslenitsa was not remembered at all. People simply had no time for tasty and aromatic pancakes. Then they tried to replace this centuries-old holiday with an anti-religious one.

Interesting fact : in 1923, Izvestia called for removing the old Maslenitsa, riotous and noisy, and celebrating a new, red one, which would help the people have cultural entertainment and promote socialist life.

But the people did not want to have fun in a new way, and the “red day of the calendar” disappeared from it by the mid-20s of the last century. They remembered Maslenitsa already in the 60s, and since the roots of the holiday go not to Christianity, but to paganism, they decided that it would not be religious, but Soviet.

They called the celebration “Farewell to the Russian Winter”, shortened its program from a week to one day, and brought mass entertainers to the parks and streets. Some of the attributes of the real Maslenitsa were left, in particular, the burning of the effigy was recognized as an ideologically consistent action. Before it there were concerts, trade in scarce goods, a ceremonial part that was typical of Soviet times. They tried as much as possible to break the connection between the holiday and religion, but the people both asked for forgiveness on this day and answered in response: “God will forgive.”

Maslenitsa is a favorite Slavic holiday and a time of magical rituals

There is no Maslenitsa without pancakes, as everyone knows. But how else to celebrate the festive season has been forgotten by many! We will correct this injustice, because in the old days there were so many Maslenitsa rituals that it was impossible to count them all.

We thought about it and decided to devote this article not to the deep essence of Maslenitsa - a lot has already been written about that. Instead, we will tell you what holiday rituals were performed in each yard, what magical actions were performed by men, women, and girls and boys. Maslenitsa is not famous for pancakes alone!

Maslenitsa is coming soon! Read our article on how to prepare for the holiday.

In which countries is Maslenitsa celebrated?

Celebrating “Fat Tuesday”
Of course, it is celebrated as close to Russia as possible in the republics and countries of the former USSR. But the geography of this wonderful celebration does not end there. In Scotland, Lenten flatbreads are baked these days. And in Poland they celebrate “Fat Thursday”.

In the Czech Republic, men smear soot on their faces to avoid recognition. Behind each of them is a tied log, which they deftly hang around the girls’ necks, and it cannot be removed. In France, Maslenitsa falls on Fat Tuesday, during which pancakes are eaten.

And in England, not only housewives surprise with wonderful pancakes, but they also race with hot frying pans. The custom dates back to the 17th century. In Belgium and Holland, a three-day carnival is held, and the main dish is flour products with delicious bacon. In Greece, wreaths are widely used in street decoration on Maslenitsa days, and many kiosks sell wooden wands, symbolizing the celebration.

Features of the Cheese Week service

In principle, there are two such main features. First of all, the Charter prohibits serving the Liturgy on Wednesday and Friday - just as during Lent itself on all weekdays (During Great Lent, a special Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated on Wednesdays and Fridays). This is due to the fact that in Orthodoxy the celebration of the Eucharist is always a holiday and joy. But everyday Lenten services are permeated with a slightly different mood—the mood of “bright sadness.” And secondly, on these days, for the first time in the year, the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian “Lord and Master of my life” . During Lent, it is repeated many times a day, but on Cheese Week it is performed only twice, as if reminding that soon the soul will enter a completely different rhythm - the rhythm of intense prayer and repentance.

History of Maslenitsa

Great artists and writers dedicated their creations to this holiday, and the best directors made films about it. Let us at least remember Kustodiev’s stunning painting “Maslenitsa”. How beautiful she is. I just want to find myself in the world that the artist reflected and enjoy the true Russian winter, incredible dishes made precisely according to Russian traditions. But before delving into our fantasies, let’s study the history of the many-sided and our only Russian holiday of Maslenitsa.

It should be noted right away that the celebrations we describe have nothing to do with the Orthodox religion. This holiday was given to us by our ancestors who worshiped pagan gods. Perhaps this is one of the few manifestations of paganism that was preserved with the transition to Orthodoxy. To avoid any disagreements, our Church included the holiday in its list, but called the period of celebration Cheese Week (Meat Week). This period of time passes just before the start of the next Lent.