The history of Maslenitsa is rooted deep in antiquity. Shrovetide is an ancient Slavic holiday that we inherited from pagan culture, which has survived even after the adoption of Christianity. It is believed that initially it was associated with the day of the spring solstice, but with the adoption of Christianity, it began to precede Great Lent and depend on its timing.

According to its custom, the church “appointed” its own place of the pagan holiday, specifically shifting the boundaries of Lent for this. After that, Maslenitsa was perceived by the Christian church as a de facto religious holiday and was called Cheese Week, or Cheese Week, but this did not change its inner essence. The 19th-century ethnographer I. M. Snegirev believed that Maslenitsa in pagan times accompanied celebrations in honor of the pagan god Veles, the patron saint of cattle breeding and agriculture, which fell on February 24 according to the new style.

For the Slavs, this holiday has long been a meeting of the new year! Indeed, until the XIV century, the year in Russia began in March. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: as a person meets the year, so he will be. That is why the Russians did not skimp on this holiday for a generous feast and unbridled fun. And the people called Maslenitsa “honest”, “wide”, “gluttonous”, and even “the ruiner”. And the very name “Maslenitsa” arose only in the 16th century. It arose because this week, according to Orthodox custom, meat is already excluded from food, and dairy products can still be consumed - that's why butter pancakes are baked.

Shrovetide is a holiday not only for the Slavs, but for almost all of Europe. The tradition of celebrating the arrival of spring has been preserved in different cities and countries, from Siberia to Spain. In the countries of Western Europe, Maslenitsa smoothly turns into a nationwide carnival, where quarrels and disputes fall silent during the celebration, unbridled fun, laughter and humor reign everywhere.

In Scotland, it was customary to bake “lean cakes” on Shrovetide. A handful of oatmeal was poured into the palms folded together, then the flour was tightly squeezed in the palms and immersed in cold water, and the resulting ball was baked in the hearth right in the hot ash. The Scots consider baking pancakes an important act in which all family members try to take part: one greases the pan with oil, another pours dough on it, the third turns the pancake over ...

In one of the cities of England, competitions in the running of women with pancakes have been held for many years. At 11:45 a.m. the “pancake bell” rings. Every woman runs with a hot frying pan and a pancake. Competition rules dictate that competitors must be at least 18 years of age; on each it is obligatory - an apron and a scarf; while running, you need to throw a pancake in the pan at least three times and catch it. The first woman to pass a pancake to the bell ringer becomes the pancake race champion for a year and is rewarded with... a bell ringer's kiss.

Theatrical performances and concerts are held in Danish schools these days. Schoolchildren exchange signs of friendship, send humorous letters to their friends through acquaintances without indicating a return address. If a boy receives such a letter from a girl and guesses her name, then on Easter she will give him chocolate.

If the main characters of the Russian Maslenitsa were newlyweds, then in Eastern Europe they were bachelors. Beware, bachelors, Maslenitsa. Especially if you accidentally find yourself in Poland at this time. Proud Poles, having lulled your vigilance with pancakes, donuts, brushwood and vodka, will certainly pull you by the hair for dessert. On the last day of Maslenitsa, you can go to a tavern where a violinist will “sell” unmarried girls.

And in the Czech Republic, on these cheerful days, young guys with soot-smeared faces go around the whole village to the music, carrying behind them a decorated wooden block - “klatik”. It is hung around the neck of every girl or tied to an arm or leg. If you want to pay off - pay.

In Yugoslavia, they will certainly put you in a pig trough and drag you through the village. And on the roof of your own house, you can find the figure of a straw grandfather.

And in the old days we had our own customs of meeting and seeing off this holiday. In 1722, on the occasion of the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt after almost twenty years of war with Sweden, Peter I invited foreign ambassadors to celebrate Maslenitsa. The emperor opened horseback riding with an unprecedented spectacle. Peter rode through the snowdrifts on a ship to which sixteen horses were harnessed. Behind him moved the gondola, in which sat Empress Catherine, dressed as a simple peasant woman. Then other ships and sleighs pulled by different animals moved.

Catherine II was very fond of skiing from the mountain, carousels, swings, they were arranged in Moscow at the Pokrovsky Palace, where the Empress liked to go to Maslenitsa with the whole court. And on the occasion of her coronation, imitating Peter I, she staged a grandiose masquerade procession called “Triumphant Minerva” in Moscow during Shrovetide Week. For three days a masquerade procession traveled around the city, which, according to the plan of the empress, was supposed to represent various social vices - bribery, embezzlement, bureaucratic red tape and others, destroyed by the beneficent rule of the wise Catherine. The procession consisted of four thousand actors and two hundred chariots.

And when Catherine II waited for the birth of her grandson Alexander, to whom she secretly intended to transfer the throne, bypassing her unloved son Paul, the empress, in joy, arranged a truly “diamond” carnival for her close ones. For those who turned out to win in the games started after dinner, the empress presented a diamond. During the evening, she gave away about 150 diamonds to her close associates, striking in their price and rare beauty.

Maslenitsa falls on the week preceding Lent. Therefore, at this time, a person withdraws his soul on the eve of a difficult and long Great Lent. Maslenitsa is, first of all, plentiful and satisfying food. Therefore, there is nothing shameful in eating at this time, tasting a wide variety of dishes and not denying yourself anything. In traditional life, it has always been believed that a person who has had a bad and boring Shrovetide week will be unlucky throughout the year. Unrestrained pancake gluttony and fun are considered as a magical harbinger of future well-being, prosperity and success in all business, household and economic endeavors. The start of Maslenitsa ranges from February 3 (i.e. January 21, old style) to March 14 (March 1, old style).

Maslenitsa is a cheerful farewell to winter, illuminated by the joyful expectation of close warmth, spring renewal of nature. Even pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Shrovetide, had a ritual meaning: round, ruddy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun, which flared up brighter, lengthening the days. Centuries passed, life changed, with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, new church holidays appeared, but the wide Maslenitsa continued to live. She was met and seen off with the same irrepressible prowess as in pagan times. Shrovetide has always been loved by the people and affectionately called “kasatochka”, “sugar lips”, “kisser”, “honest Shrovetide”, “cheerful”, “quail”, “perebuha”, “byedukha”, “yasochka”.

Maslenitsa is a week-long holiday, a ritual holiday with round dances, songs, dances, games, and most importantly, with a rite of praise, feeding and burning a home-made effigy of Winter. Children are told about the ritual meaning of Shrovetide calls and games, they explain why it is necessary to burn Maslenitsa, lure the Sun with pancakes, glorify Spring, and ask for a good harvest.

Shrovetide week was literally overflowing with festive affairs; ritual and non-ritual actions, traditional games and undertakings, duties and deeds filled all days to capacity. There was enough strength, energy, enthusiasm for everything, since the atmosphere of ultimate emancipation, general joy and fun reigned. Each day of Shrove Tuesday had its own name, each day was assigned certain actions, rules of conduct, etc.:

Monday - "meeting"
tuesday - "play"
Wednesday - "gourmet", "revelry", "fracture",
Thursday - "walk around-four", "wide",
Friday - “Teschinas of the evening”, “Teschins of the evening”,
Saturday - "sister-in-law gatherings", "seeing off",
Sunday - "forgiveness day."

The whole week was called "honest, wide, cheerful, noblewoman-carnival, madam carnival."

Monday - meeting
On this day, an effigy of Maslenitsa was made from straw, they put on old women's clothes on it, put this effigy on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh through the village. Then Maslenitsa was set on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began. The songs that are sung on the day of the "meeting" are very cheerful.

Tuesday - play
From that day on, various kinds of entertainment began: sleigh rides, folk festivals, performances. In large wooden booths (rooms for folk theatrical performances with clowning and comic scenes), performances were given led by Petrushka and Shrovetide grandfather. On the streets there were large groups of mummers, in masks, driving around familiar houses, where merry home concerts were impromptu. Large companies rode around the city, on troikas and on simple sledges. Another simple entertainment was held in high esteem - skiing from icy mountains.

Wednesday - gourmet
She opened treats in all houses with pancakes and other dishes. In each family, tables were set with delicious food, pancakes were baked, in the villages they brewed beer together. Theaters and stalls appeared everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (drinks made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, and honey gingerbread. Here, right under the open sky, one could drink tea from a boiling samovar.

Thursday - revelry (fracture, wide Thursday)
This day was the middle of games and fun. Perhaps, it was then that the hot Shrovetide fistfights took place, the fists, leading their origin from Ancient Russia. They also had their own strict rules. It was impossible, for example, to beat a lying person (“they don’t beat a lying person”), to attack one person together (two fight - don’t get the third one), to beat below the belt or to beat on the back of the head. There were penalties for violating these rules. It was possible to fight "wall to wall" or "one on one". There were also "hunting" fights for connoisseurs, lovers of such fights. Ivan the Terrible himself watched such battles with pleasure. For such an occasion, this entertainment was prepared especially magnificently and solemnly. And yet it was a game, a holiday, which, of course, corresponded to clothing. If you also want to follow the ancient Russian rituals and customs, if your hands itch a lot, you can have a little fun and probably fight - all negative negative emotions will be removed at the same time, relaxation will come (maybe this was some kind of secret meaning of fisticuffs). fights), and at the same time it is a duel of the strongest. Just do not forget about all the restrictions and, most importantly, that this is still a festive game duel.

Friday - mother-in-law evenings
A number of Maslenitsa customs were aimed at speeding up weddings and helping young people find a mate. And how much attention and honors were given to the newlyweds at Shrovetide! Tradition requires that they go out dressed “to people” in painted sleighs, pay visits to everyone who walked at their wedding, so that they solemnly roll down the ice mountain to the songs. However, the most important event associated with the newlyweds was the visit of the mother-in-law by the sons-in-law, for whom she baked pancakes and arranged a real feast (unless, of course, the son-in-law was to her liking). In some places, “Teschin pancakes” took place on gourmets, that is, on Wednesday during Shrovetide week, but could be timed to coincide with Friday. If on Wednesday the sons-in-law visited their mother-in-laws, then on Friday the sons-in-law arranged “mother-in-law evenings” and invited them to pancakes. The former boyfriend usually appeared, who played the same role as at the wedding, and received a gift for his efforts. The called mother-in-law (there was also such a custom) was obliged to send in the evening everything necessary for baking pancakes: a frying pan, a ladle, etc., and the father-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat and cow's butter. The disrespect of the son-in-law for this event was considered a dishonor and insult, and was the reason for the eternal enmity between him and the mother-in-law.

Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings
The sister-in-law is the sister of the husband. So, on this Sabbath day, young daughters-in-law hosted relatives. As you can see, at this “fat Shrovetide” every day of this generous week was accompanied by a special feast.

Sunday - seeing off, a kisser, a forgiveness day.
The last day of Maslenitsa week was called “Forgiveness Sunday”: relatives and friends did not go to each other to celebrate, but with “obedience”, asked for forgiveness for intentional and accidental insults and grief caused in the current year. When meeting (sometimes even with a stranger), it was supposed to stop and with triple bows and “tearful words” ask for mutual forgiveness: “Forgive me, what I am guilty of or have sinned against you.” “May God forgive you, and I forgive you,” the interlocutor answered, after which, as a sign of reconciliation, it was necessary to kiss.

Farewell to Maslenitsa ended on the first day of Great Lent - Clean Monday, which was considered the day of cleansing from sin and fast food. Men usually "rinsed their teeth", i.e. they drank vodka in abundance, ostensibly in order to rinse out the remnants of fast food from their mouths; in some places fistfights, etc., were arranged to “shake out pancakes”. On Clean Monday, they always washed in a bathhouse, and women washed dishes and “steamed” milk utensils, cleaning it from fat and the remnants of the milk.

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, someone sees in it one of the stages of preparation for. Well, someone will remember the famous cartoon by Robert Saakyants "Look, you, Maslenitsa."

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

Maslenitsa: the history of the holiday. Why do Christians celebrate Maslenitsa?

The last day of Cheese Week is called. It completes a series of preparatory weeks for Great Lent. In total, the “introductory” period lasts 22 days, and during this time the Church sets the believers in the right spiritual mood.

Such close attention to the Lenten cycle is quite natural, because it is the core of the entire liturgical year in most Christian Churches. Fasting is a special time. This, as the poetess Natalya Karpova very aptly put it, "seven slow weeks, bestowed on you for repentance." This is a special rhythm of life. Naturally, radical changes in the soul are not made overnight, and serious preparation is needed here - both of the mind, and of the emotions, and of the body.

If we delve into history, we will see that Cheese Week is the oldest among the weeks before Lent. It appeared under the influence of Palestinian monastic practice - local monks spent almost the entire forty-day period before Easter alone, dispersing to desert places. By the beginning of Holy Week, they met again, but some did not return, dying in the desert. Realizing that each new post could be the last in their lives, the day before parting, the Chernorizians asked each other for forgiveness and exchanged warm words. Hence the name of this day - Forgiveness Sunday.

The tradition of eating dairy throughout the week - even on Monday, Wednesday and Friday - is also of monastic origin. After all, what is a desert? This is the lack of food, and sometimes - and water. Naturally, before such a test, you need to accumulate strength. Of course, we are not talking about the fact that these days the monks overate on quick meals. Just in view of the ascetic period ahead in their lives, fasting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday was canceled.

The laity adopted and developed this monastic tradition, but at the same time it received a slightly different meaning. A Christian layman does not need to go to any desert, therefore, the need for preliminary reinforcement of oneself with protein food disappears. But there is another point - there are many temptations in the world, and it is risky to refuse them immediately. Therefore, fasting restrictions began to be introduced gradually, and Cheese Week is one of those stages when it is no longer possible to eat meat and play weddings, but you can still have fun and get the joy of communication. However, do not get too carried away, remembering that the post is coming soon.

Pre-Christian history of Maslenitsa

Shrovetide is a primordially pagan holiday, known in Russia 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.

I think, if we talk about the Slavic heritage, then here we can rather talk about why the Church nevertheless consecrated the pagan holiday and filled it with new ideas. The answer is very simple - Christianity is perhaps the most tolerant religion on Earth. It may sound strange against the backdrop of frequent statements from the outside about the intolerance of Christians, but it is true. Christianity is a religion of transformation, which does not level everything that comes into contact with it, but cleanses from sinful dirt and rethinks in the key of the Gospel.

The Church did not include Maslenitsa in its calendar, but, nevertheless, it melted it down, and it was this centuries-old influence of Christianity that made the once pagan holiday that bright and grotesque period that has been known for several centuries. Through the efforts of the Church, Maslenitsa lost its former sacred meaning and turned into a simple week of rest and fun.

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 ​​cyclicity.

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 lane, 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 were always unpredictable. Either the thaw will come, or the frosts will press. “Spring and winter are fighting,” our ancestors used to say. And it was precisely on Maslenitsa that a certain milestone was held, until which the world was dominated by cold, and after that heat finally came. Everything was back to normal again, and this return of life was one of the main objects of celebration.

And where there is life, there is its multiplication. Shrovetide, in addition to the idea of ​​cyclicality, carries elements of the cult of fertility. The earth resurrected, absorbed the last winter snow, filled with juices. And now people had to help her, to give this process some sacred basis. In a more familiar language, the rites of Shrovetide are designed to sanctify the earth, fill it with strength so that it gives 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 the Maslenitsa ceremonies. Shrovetide was a kind of pagan liturgy, only the role of God here was played by nature itself and its elements, to which the Slav brought an impromptu sacrifice.

The third - no less important point - the continuation of the family. The fertility of the earth finds its continuation 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 another. The idea of ​​the cycle of life, its bestowal and transmission to children was the key to pagan consciousness. Life itself was a 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 land 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 the trizna - memorial events that included sacrifices, mourning weeping, plentiful meals. It was believed that the dead themselves invisibly participate in feasts.

In fact, Maslenitsa was one of human 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 heat, 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 a 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 that gaiety that we know from the works of pre-revolutionary writers remained.

Traditions, customs and rituals of Maslenitsa

The first interesting custom is to eat milk 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 Russia! 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.

Another (perhaps even more ancient) name of this holiday is Kolodiy. It is connected with the custom, which in later times in Ukraine and Belarus. During the whole Kolodochnaya week, in parallel with other ceremonies, rural women performed an amazing act - “kolodochnaya life”. They took a thick stick-block, dressed it up and imagined that it was a person. On Monday, Kolodka was “born”, on Tuesday she was “baptized”, on Wednesday she “experienced” all the other moments of her “life”. On Thursday Kolodka “died”, on Friday she was “buried”, and on Saturday she was “mourned”. On Sunday, the culmination of Kolodiy came.

Throughout the holiday, women walked around the village with Kolodka and tied it to everyone who was still single or not married. They did not forget about the parents of non-family boys and girls. Of course, no one wanted to go with such a “label”, and therefore they gave women a certain payoff. They could be colored ribbons, beads or saucers, booze and sweets.

The next feature of the holiday - also characteristic mainly for Ukraine and Belarus - is its "femininity". Maslenitsa was called by the people - Babskaya week. It was perceived as a period during which, one way or another, it was the fair sex that played the main role in the fun rituals. In these days, engagements were held, and in an even more ancient era, marriages were concluded. That is, there is the very cult of fertility, which we spoke about above. At the same time, attention was paid to all aspects of female existence - both virginity (the idea of ​​a beautiful girl and a bride was praised), and motherhood (a mother woman, a guardian woman), and wisdom (an old woman, a woman adviser). It got "nuts" and negative qualities. For example, on Friday, the son-in-law had to invite the mother-in-law to his house, regale her, treat other guests with vodka and say: “Drink, good people, so that my mother-in-law does not dry up in the throat!”. It was a subtle allusion to the excessive talkativeness of his wife's mother. By the way, the so-called "sister-in-law gatherings" and, in general, women visiting each other are also part of the "women's" element of the holiday.

By the way, about food. This is a very important moment of all ancient Slavic holidays. When the family sat down at the table, they invited their ancestors to participate in this meal. Traditional pancakes also have a memorial origin. At the suggestion of the Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasyev, at the end of the 19th century, the view was established that a pancake is an image of the Sun. But there is another scientific version that among the Slavs pancake was the original funeral bread, which has a very deep symbolism. It is round (a hint of eternity), warm (a hint of earthly joy), made of flour, water and milk (a hint of life). The justification for the funeral origin of the familiar delicacy can be, for example, the following custom: On the first day of Maslenitsa, pancakes were placed on the attic dormer window - “to treat the dead”, or they were given directly to the beggars to commemorate the dead. So they said: "The first pancake for peace."

The funeral elements also include such customs as taking a snowy town or fisticuffs. Now this kind of fun is almost harmless, but before they were very dangerous to life. These are echoes of an even more ancient tradition, when the blood shed during such battles was perceived as a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead or to the gods themselves. At the same time, they did not seek to kill anyone, but it was precisely such a surge of energy, riot, rollicking that was filled with sacred meaning. The victim was effigy burning winters - this ceremony was performed at the end of the holiday, and the ashes of the effigy scattered across the field, consecrating the earth. The spring songs performed by girls in the forests, on the edges, in groves and on the banks of water bodies had the same sacred meaning - they seemed to call the forces of good to the earth, asking for blessings from Mother Nature at the beginning of a new harvest year.

And, probably, the most piquant tradition was the custom in some regions of modern Russia (for example, in the Arkhangelsk Territories) to perform such an action when seeing off Maslenitsa: imitated with their movements washing in the bath. In other areas, only the "Voevoda" was exposed and in this form he delivered a festive speech, which completed the festivities. It is difficult to understand the meaning of such a “striptease” now, but the ancestors put into it not only a funny, but also a philosophical meaning. It was a symbol of death, dying and birth. After all, a person is born naked, and conceives children naked, and dies, in fact, also naked, having nothing behind his soul that can be taken with him to the grave ...

Questions about Maslenitsa:

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?

It is hardly possible to answer unambiguously, and here's why.

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 a libation, a roundabout (by the way, this is one of the popular names for Shrovetide) and other indecencies, then, of course, it is unequivocally sinful to participate in them.

Maslenitsa in other Churches

Here again, it is necessary to distinguish between Maslenitsa and cheese week. Every nation that lives in that part of the planet where there is a clear change of seasons has a spring festival in its culture. The ideas of cyclicity, fertility, procreation and veneration of ancestors are inherent in almost all earthly civilizations, so here you can talk a lot about the spring celebrations of the peoples of the world.

WITH cheese week the case is different. It is in the calendars of all Orthodox Churches of the Greek tradition. It is also known to Western Russian Uniates - Orthodox, who recognized the primacy of Rome, but retained the Greek rite.

Latin Catholics have an analogue cheese week- Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before "Ash Wednesday" - the last three days before Lent, when it is allowed to eat fast food. In different European countries, these days have a variety of names, and in the popular mind are associated with carnivals - mass celebrations. Carnivals also have a pagan origin, and their meaning is approximately the same as that of the Eastern Slavs. In any case, it was. Now carnivals (like Shrovetide) are turning into a commercial event and a colorful show, which has completely lost touch not only with the ancient pagan, but also with the church tradition, too.

And, finally, it is worth remembering the feast of the Armenian Apostolic Church - Boon Barekendan("True Maslenitsa"). It is celebrated on the Sunday before Lent. This day is famous not only for rich treats, fairs and folk festivals, but also for the fact that the poor and beggars became the subject of everyone's attention and enjoyed the benefits of the public table. On Saturday before the True Maslenitsa, the curtain of the altar is closed for the entire period of Great Lent and opens only on the day of the Resurrection of Christ. On the day of Maslenitsa, the Liturgy in the Armenian Church is performed behind a closed veil.

Features of worship of the Cheese week

In principle, there are two such main features. First of all, the Charter forbids serving the Liturgy on Wednesday and Friday - as well as on fasting itself on all weekdays (a special service is celebrated during Great Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays). This is due to the fact that in Orthodoxy the celebration of the Eucharist is always a holiday and joy. And everyday Lenten services are permeated with a slightly different mood - the mood of "bright sadness." And the second - these days, for the first time in a year, it takes place. During fasting, it is repeated many times a day, and on Cheese Week it is done only twice, as if reminding that soon the soul will enter a completely different rhythm - the rhythm of intense prayer and repentance.

Russian Maslenitsa is a fun folk festival at the junction of winter and spring. This festival itself was inherited from our pagan ancestors, who also dressed up a scarecrow, symbolizing winter, and then set it on fire. It so happened that today many people confuse Maslenitsa with Cheese Week before Lent: historically, it turned out that after the pagan holiday lost its original meaning, however, it coincided in time with the eve of Lent.

The history of the origin of the name of the holiday

Why is Maslenitsa called Maslenitsa? This is a very interesting question, which was studied by various etymologists at one time. Several legends connected with the birth of this name have survived to this day.

One of the versions why Maslenitsa is called Maslenitsa is closely connected with the old Russian tradition of baking pancakes. Tired of winter, cold and snow, people thus tried to attract the mercy of the gentle sun and persuade him to better warm the frozen Russian land. For this purpose, they prepared pancakes, which in this case acted as a symbol of the luminary. In addition, in Russian villages it was customary to carry out various actions, rituals, one way or another connected with the circle: for example, people brightly decorated the wheel from the cart and carried it down the street on a pole, went around the village several times on horseback and led traditional round dances. Our ancestors were sure that such actions "appease" the Sun, that is, help appease it. Hence the name of one of the most cheerful and bright holidays in Slavic culture.

There is another opinion as to why Maslenitsa is called Maslenitsa. According to this version, the holiday was so named because, according to the Orthodox tradition, meat is already excluded from the diet this week, and dairy products are still allowed. That's why people bake butter pancakes. By the way, it was for the same reason that over time Shrovetide began to be called

If you believe other legends, then the answer to the question of why Maslenitsa is called Maslenitsa takes us far, far to the North, and Frost is the father of this holiday. According to legend, in the midst of the saddest and harshest time of the year, winter, a man saw Shrovetide, hiding between giant snowdrifts, and called her to help people with her warmth, cheer and warm them. And she came to the call, but she came not as a fragile girl who was hiding in the middle of a snow-covered forest from a man, but as a beautiful woman with ruddy and oily cheeks, an insidious spark in her eyes and loud laughter. She managed to make many people completely forget about winter for a week, she had so much fun and danced contagiously. And later it was in her honor that the holiday got its name.

How was Maslenitsa week?

The celebration of Maslenitsa, as you know, lasted a week. Moreover, each day of these seven has its own name, talking about what you need to do on that day. Of course, in the modern world, it is quite difficult to observe all the customs and rituals of an ancient holiday, because now Shrovetide has completely lost its festive status and has become a regular one. However, it will still be very interesting to learn about ancient traditions and rituals. In the days of Maslenitsa, it was the duty of everyone to help drive away the winter and awaken the sleeping nature.

Day 1. Monday. "Meeting"

From that day on Maslenitsa began. The history and traditions of the celebration are interesting in themselves. Usually on this day, people arranged and rolled ice slides. People believed that the longer the sleigh or sleigh rolled, the louder the laughter would ring over the hill, the richer the harvest would be in the fall, the longer the flax would grow. And in order for the plants to grow faster, according to popular beliefs, it was necessary to ride on a swing, and the higher, the better. In addition, on Monday, people chose a place on a hillock where they installed a Shrovetide doll.

Day 2. Tuesday. "Fun"

All fun games began with our ancestors on Tuesday: on this day they built booths, rode horses, went to visit each other. For fun and fun, according to tradition, they were treated to delicious pancakes.

Day 3. Wednesday. "Gourmet"

If the history of Maslenitsa is gradually forgotten, then this particular day, Lakomka, is well known and remembered even in the 21st century. The name of this day speaks for itself: on Wednesday, the hostesses acted according to the old saying: “What is in the oven - everything is on the table with swords!” And in the main place among the huge abundance of dishes, of course, there were pancakes. There was a custom according to which the first pancake should be given to a random passerby in order to remember the dead, the second to the mother, the third to the father, the next three to brothers and sisters, and the seventh usually went to the smallest member of the family.

Day 4. Thursday. "Walk around"

"Razgulyay" - the fourth day of the celebration of Maslenitsa. On Thursday, people arranged a traditional horseback ride "in the sun" (that is, in a clockwise direction around the village) - of course, to help the heavenly body drive away winter completely. And the main "male" business was considered the defense or the capture of the "snow town". The people were divided into two teams, with one taking the position of spring, and the second desperately "defending" the winter. In the end, spring was sure to win.

Day 5. Friday. "Mother-in-law of the evening"

Meanwhile, the folk Maslenitsa continued. On Friday, the son-in-law went to his mother-in-law, and she, in turn, regaled her son-in-law with delicious hot pancakes. A miniature doll-amulet, the so-called "home Maslenitsa", was always put out in the window. It should have been turned over three times, saying "Turn away with evil, turn towards good."

Day 6. Saturday. "Zolovkina gatherings"

"Zolovka gatherings", as well as "Lakomka", are known to this day. On this day, it was customary to visit all relatives and treat themselves to pancakes.

Day 7. Sunday. "Forgiveness Day"

The final day of the celebration is “forgiveness Sunday”, when one should ask relatives, friends and acquaintances for forgiveness for the offenses caused. After that, the farewell to Shrovetide took place, with cheerful dances and songs.

This is how our ancestors passed. At all times, people tried to celebrate it as richly, satisfyingly and more cheerfully as possible, because it was believed that if Shrovetide was celebrated in this way, then the whole next year would be just as prosperous and well-fed. There was even a belief that not having fun during the broad Maslenitsa is not good, it meant "living in bitter grief and ending life badly." In general, the history of Maslenitsa is very interesting, and all the traditions associated with it cannot be contained in one article.

"Pancake Traditions"

Finally, we will tell you a few more interesting facts about the main attribute of the holiday - pancakes. Our ancestors believed that together with Shrovetide pancakes, they were given the warmth and power of the Sun itself. Each hostess tried her best to “not be ashamed”, to treat her guests plentifully and tasty. Interestingly, each had their own "secret" recipe for making pancakes, passed down exclusively through the female line.

Real Russian pancakes were made from buckwheat flour, thanks to which they acquired a special friability and sour taste. Many people added semolina or millet porridge, apples, potatoes, cream to them. Of course, during the Maslenitsa period, pancakes could be bought on every corner, and in eateries and taverns they were traditionally served with sour cream, whipped cream, honey and jam, and sometimes with caviar, sprat, herring or mushrooms. Pancakes were usually washed down with milk or tea, the so-called sbiten was a special honor - a delicious drink made from water, spices and honey.

The oldest Slavic holiday Maslenitsa has survived to this day in a distorted form with a predominance of its entertainment part, with round dances, bonfires, pancakes and indispensable invitations to visit. Even the Orthodox Church now considers Maslenitsa not a pagan holiday, but its own, Orthodox and considers it as a preparation for a long Lent. This happened with many holidays, but Maslenitsa is the most striking example. It is known that until the 17th century, this old, truly folk holiday of spring and the birth of life was tried to be banned and those who celebrated it openly were persecuted. It is clear that nothing came of this idea to eradicate the "demonic fun", and the people defended their right to have fun in the last days of winter. Since the 18th century, the church has ceased to pay such close attention to the holiday, and the demonstrative festivities of the kings only strengthened Maslenitsa in the life of the Russian people, although they distorted the essence of what was happening. From the second half of the 18th century, the church "adapted" Shrovetide for its own purposes and did not forbid parishioners to participate in the general bacchanalia, while imposing certain restrictions on the composition of foods suitable for food these days, and a strict "regulation" of prayers. Each of the seven (and up to the 17th century fourteen) days of Shrovetide had its own name.

By the beginning of the 20th century, all the names were mixed up - ancient, church, folk, and now Maslenitsa is a holiday of meeting spring, cheerful, carefree, with plentiful food and, most importantly, pancakes. became the central dish, its symbol. As in ancient times, pancakes in the human mind symbolize the sun. Only in the distant pre-Christian times, our ancestors prayed to the sun god Yarila, and cooked pancakes in gratitude to Yarila for light and warmth.

The name Maslenitsa came from the celebration of spring, that is, March 1 (March 21-23 to 15-16), the beginning of the new year. At this time, cows were calving, and they had a lot of milk, which means that there was enough butter in the house. The word oil originally sounded like smeared, that is, what a pancake is smeared with. Mazalo or oil in this case was a symbol of prosperity, a new rich and well-fed year. Pancakes for Maslenitsa were also an earthly reflection of the sun. Pancake - like a small sun - round and hot. To grease a pancake with oil means to bring a gift to the sun, to appease it. Just as today, in the first half of January, Russia indulges in a holiday, so in ancient times our ancestors celebrated the New Year on a grand scale, only at the beginning of spring. Hence the burning of the effigy of winter, round dances, bonfires and other echoes of the pagan past. There is a version that the Maslenitsa holiday in ancient times was in honor of the god Veles, the patron saint of cattle breeding.

Evidence of the "royal" celebration of Shrovetide has been preserved. For example, in 1724, Peter the Great decided to arrange a grand celebration, but the frosts prevented a huge masquerade, a sledge procession and other fun. The strong Russian frost did not allow to celebrate Maslenitsa, once again confirming that changing the dates of the Maslenitsa week is not the best idea for a holiday. The fact is that Shrove Tuesday was supposed to take place on the days of the spring solstice, which fell at the height of Lent. At the insistence of the church, the celebration was postponed a month ago, and now the last day of Maslenitsa was supposed to be a week before the start of Lent. But there were also good celebrations. According to the memoirs of the Austrian secretary Korb, who happened to be in Russia on Shrovetide week, “all respect for the highest authorities disappears, the most harmful self-will reigns everywhere.” The same Korb witnessed the case when the newly built Lefortov Palace was illuminated by a mummered pseudo-patriarch at the head of the “most jesting and most drunken cathedral” with a cross made of tobacco pipes, a censer with tobacco smoke and, to top it off, serving a service in honor of Bacchus. During the Maslenitsa holiday in the palace, the tsar himself was the ringleader and the first merry fellow. A two-day feast began in the "consecrated" palace, while the guests were forbidden to sleep or leave, and only for foreign guests they made an exception and set aside several hours for sleep, after which they woke up and dragged them back to the feast. In 1722, Peter the Great staged a grand procession in Moscow, putting boats and yachts on sledges, and this procession passed through Moscow in front of an astonished public. All the same pranksters were sitting in the boats: the “patriarch”, “Bacchus”, there was also a Neptune costume dressed up, sitting in a sleigh in the form of a huge shell. The procession was completed by a large ship on which the king rode. The ship sailed into the wind with her sails spread and constantly fired from the cannons mounted on the deck. The entire structure was pulled by 15 horses. Another case is when Catherine II arranged a festive carnival, poorly understanding the traditions of the people of the country she ruled. The “Triumphant Minerva” masquerade consisted of a carnival procession traveling around the capital, playing and ridiculing human vices: embezzlement, bribery, red tape of officials and others. The metropolitan traditions of the festivities were adopted by the provinces, and throughout Russia of that time Maslenitsa was celebrated widely and powerfully. For the rulers, the holiday was an occasion to appease the people, to show them their closeness. Ancient traditions were not respected, and the celebration was an average Europeanized carnival with kitsch elements and pancakes as an understandable and accessible symbol. However, some elements of the holiday "in the European manner" only strengthened and enriched Shrovetide, diversifying its festive, fun part.

Back in the 18th century, it was customary to cook a variety of treats on Maslenitsa - it was an open-air feast, at every home. Everyone went to visit each other, ate treats and had fun from the heart. On the streets they sold a wide variety of food: sbiten, bagels, honey gingerbread, pies and pancakes with a wide variety of fillings. There were also salty foods: all kinds of pickles, mushrooms, dried fish, caviar, fragrant bread and pies with various fillings. Of the entertainment were buffoons, booths and ice slides. The latter was so popular that paid slides were arranged in St. Petersburg, a ride on which cost 1 kopeck. In villages and villages, they flooded their own slides, but on the already “ready” hills and ravines, they built snow fortresses and organized tournaments.

The people have a custom of visiting and celebrating Maslenitsa. Each day of the holiday week has its own purpose. On Monday - Maslenitsa meeting. On this day, the first pancakes were baked, and the very first was intended for the ancestors. He was taken out onto the porch with a special conspiracy and left for the night. On the same day, they dressed up an effigy of Shrovetide, which they carried along the streets with songs.

Tuesday - games. On this day, it was customary to guess. A proverb appeared about the custom of this day: "Choose a husband for pancakes, and a wife for pies." What kind of pancakes a man prefers, such is his character. Real tough men love pancakes with caviar - they will provide for their wife, and they will keep the economy strong. But you should not expect affection from such a man. If the betrothed prefers pancakes with red fish, then his temper is affectionate, he is more of a dreamer, an artist. Such one will speak tenderness, but the economy may fall into disrepair. Good men love pancakes with cottage cheese. With sour cream - a person without a strong character, who is easy to convince. Gentle men eat pancakes with butter - such a one will love-kiss, but he doesn’t like household chores very much. Those who like to have many children eat with sugar, and the wife will look after them. The most unpleasant husband candidates are those who eat pancakes with boiled eggs. Bores at home and at a holiday, they perform household and marital duties, but somehow out of duty. Pancakes with jam are loved by handsome guys, the first in the village, in front of everyone. Being such a wife is flattering, but a hubby can go on a spree.

Wednesday was called gourmet. Rich tables were set in all respectable houses. Tents were pitched on the streets with hot sbitny (a soft drink made from hot water, honey and spices), gingerbread, pies, nuts and other street treats. On this day, it was customary to invite sons-in-law to visit. According to the rules, there should be all kinds of pancakes on the table - both salty and sweet, both small and large, with fish, caviar, cottage cheese and other delicacies. Here and to look at the son-in-law (is he strong, can he feed his wife), and feed him before fisticuffs on Thursday. They talked at the table, sang songs and had fun in a narrow family circle.

Thursday - go for a walk. Fisticuffs, wall to wall and other "men's fun". By this day, snow fortresses were built, which rivals conquered with noise. In the Christian calendar, the same day falls on Candlemas (that is, a meeting). This holiday is in honor of the bringing of the baby Jesus Christ by the Blessed Mary to the church and the meeting on the way with the elder Simeon. In ancient pagan traditions, this day was the meeting of the new year. They baked pigeons and larks from dough, and the kids “clicked on the sun” so that it “appeared from behind the mountain.”

On Friday, the sons-in-law invited the mothers-in-law to taste treats. The strangeness of the custom (first the son-in-law on Wednesday, and then the mother-in-law on Friday to the son-in-law) was intensified by the fact that the mother-in-law had to bring all the ingredients for the treat the day before. And even a frying pan, a tub and a scoop for making pancakes.

On Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings. Unmarried sisters-in-law invited unmarried friends to visit. The daughter-in-law was supposed to give them gifts, and they should treat and entertain the guests.

Sunday is the last day of Maslenitsa, forgiveness Sunday, seeing off winter and burning the effigy of Winter. Before burning, the effigy is carried around the city, and after that they are installed in the square and dance round dances, while they scold Winter in every possible way, drive it away and, in the end, burn the effigy. The fun is completed by jumping over a huge fire. And this Sunday is called forgiven because everyone asks for forgiveness from their ancestors. They are called bonfires, they are invited to a plentiful treat. This appeasement of the spirits of the dead in the Christian era has been slightly distorted, and people ask for forgiveness from God and from each other. It is customary to say: “Forgive me”, receiving the answer: “God will forgive”, after which everyone goes to the bath, which can be considered a rite of purification before a long spring, and among Christians - before Lent.

Pancakes are the most popular dish on Shrove Tuesday. This recipe is a simple dish prepared with special skill. Here the skill and accuracy of the hand, a trained eye, culinary flair and endurance are important. That is why pancakes are such a simple and at the same time complex dish. Word pancake common Slavic. In Ukrainian there is mlynets, in Bulgarian - mlyn. Mlyn- this is a millstone in windmills, a round stone, which, by rubbing against another equally flat, but lying motionless, abraded grains of cereals, turning them into flour. Damn-mlyn these are words from the terminology of the mill craft, which among the Slavs was one of the central ones. In French, the mill is called moulin, in German - Muhle, in Italian - mulino, and in English - mill, that is, also similar to mlyn.

Interesting origin of the expression the first pancake is lumpy- in modern language it is unequivocal - com, failure, the first pancake turned out to be a lump. But it used to mean how, a to whom damn, that is comam- dead ancestors. This first pancake was an offering to the komas. So it turns out that the old spelling coincides with the new meaning - the living Russian language is constantly changing.

I must say that the custom of eating pancakes at Shrovetide appeared rather late. Of course, they were eaten during Shrovetide celebrations from ancient times, but for a long time pancakes were not the main dish. In deeper antiquity (pre-Christian and early Christian era) Maslenitsa was celebrated varied food. Pancakes were a symbol of the holiday, but not the main dish on the table. Information about the preparation of pancakes by the ancient Slavs, unfortunately, can only be learned from the correspondence of early Christian chronicles, which incompletely and possibly falsely described the essence of the rites, and their later lists were completely full of errors. According to one version, Eastern Slavs had pancakes sacrificial bread, a memorial dish for feasts. The custom of eating pancakes at funerals was preserved without its original essence or was simply not designated so as not to conflict with the official religion.

Pancakes are a universal dish, one might say - an archetype. They were prepared in ancient Rome and Europe in the Middle Ages, for example, in Sweden, Germany. But only among the Slavs the “pancake theme” is fully disclosed. We have pancakes made from wheat, rye, buckwheat, barley and oat flour. The abundance of fillings for pancakes and cooking options, the simplicity and speed of preparation made pancakes a Russian dish, and it was the Russians who succeeded in preparing various and interesting dishes from pancakes. We can say that pancakes are the first fast food, because it is convenient to eat them with your hands, wrapping anything in them, and it is quite simple for an experienced cook to prepare a pile of pancakes.

This year, the celebration of the most fun Russian holiday - Maslenitsa - falls on the week of February 20-26. According to tradition, Maslenitsa begins to be celebrated 56 days before Easter. For the Slavs, this holiday has long been a meeting of the new year. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: as a person meets the year, so he will be. That is why the Russians did not skimp on this holiday for a generous feast and unbridled fun.

About what are the customs of this ancient holiday, why they burn the effigy of Maslenitsa and how they call for spring, Nadezhda Shalimova, a methodologist at the Burkov House aesthetic education center, told Aloud About the Main.

- How long has Maslenitsa been celebrated in Russia?

The history of Maslenitsa is rooted deep in antiquity. Shrovetide is an ancient Slavic holiday that we inherited from pagan culture, which has survived even after the adoption of Christianity. The key rite of the celebration is the burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa, which symbolizes the outgoing year, the past winter. At this time, there is a struggle between two principles: heat and cold, light and darkness. Shrovetide games are dedicated to this struggle - fisticuffs and cockfights, various competitions, the capture of a snowy town. We say goodbye to the dark forces, to everything bad that happened, to winter and cold.

- Today, the pagan rite has become part of the Orthodox tradition. How does it fit?

Indeed, this primordially pagan rite in the present also has a Christian meaning. Lent begins immediately after Maslenitsa. On Shrove Tuesday, it is allowed to eat meat, cheese, eggs, cottage cheese - all those foods that are prohibited in fasting. "Butter, cheese and cottage cheese - everything flew under the threshold" - they said in Russia.

Fasting is a process of spiritual purification. Before it began, too, it was necessary to cleanse and prepare. Therefore, the last day of Maslenitsa is called "Forgiveness Sunday." On this day, it is customary to ask forgiveness from each other, people tried to go to confession, to prepare for the upcoming spiritual work.

The burning of Maslenitsa also takes place on the last day, on Sunday. In Christianity, this symbolizes the leaving of one's sins in the past.

- And where did the name “Maslenitsa” come from?

Maslenitsa got its name from the plentiful oily food, which was supposed to be treated throughout the week. With all the diversity of amusements and comforts, Shrove Tuesday fits into the strict framework of rituals, each day has its own name and involves certain activities.

Monday is called "meeting". On this day, they met Maslenitsa, built slides, and rode from them. They baked pies, treated them on the street. On Tuesday, the flirting began - girls' swings, horse rides, snowy towns were erected.

On the third day - gourmet - people ate pancakes, Thursday was called "break", "broad Thursday", it accounted for the middle of the buttered bun. On this day, they walked from morning to evening, danced, danced round dances.

The end of the week, according to tradition, is family. On Friday, the sons-in-law arranged "mother-in-law evenings." The son-in-law was obliged to invite his mother-in-law to visit. Saturday was called "sister-in-law gatherings." The young daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place. Saturday was also declared parental.

On Forgiveness Sunday, our ancestors, with an open mind, prayed to forget insults and not to keep evil in mind.

- What is the role of pancakes in the celebration of Maslenitsa?

Pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Shrovetide, had a ritual meaning: round, ruddy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun. Just on these days, the sun flares up brighter, lengthening the days. In addition, pancake is a ritual food. They are baked not only on Maslenitsa, but also on the Trinity, on all parental days. Pancake also symbolizes the continuation of life and unity.

- How is the House of Burkov preparing to celebrate Maslenitsa?

We have been celebrating Maslenitsa for many years in a row. On Sunday at 14.00 we are waiting for everyone to meet the Maslenitsa train, contests and hot tea with pancakes. A wide Shrovetide festivities will begin in the courtyard of the center along Dzerzhinsky Street.

In Maslenitsa performances, a certain canon must be observed: first buffoons-barkers together with the guests they meet the effigy of Maslenitsa. Maslenitsa arrives on the so-called "Shrovetide train", appears with songs, accompanied by mummers. The center's folklore group led by Olga Lapchinskaya will help meet the "train".

- Do you make a stuffed Maslenitsa yourself?

Yes, we have craftswomen who specialize in creating Russian ritual dolls. Today, the Shrovetide doll is dressed in a woman's dress, but in the old days they made two - Shrovetide and Shrovetide. They were taken on a sleigh throughout the district, and then, with songs and dances, they were seated on the highest place. This couple in paganism denoted the divine groom and bride. The ancient ritual has come down to us in a greatly truncated form. The prototype of Maslenitsa was the Snow Maiden - a deity that takes and gives life, according to the myths of the pagans. Next to her was Maslenik, the prototype of which was the thunder god from the same rituals and myths. By the way, dolls should be faceless. There is a belief that if a doll has a face, then it cannot be burned - it has a soul.

In addition to a large stuffed animal, on Maslenitsa, they make “maslenichek”-bereginy from straw or bast. These babies were placed above the lintel of the door, repeating three times: "Turn to me with good, turn away with evil."

- It is customary to dress up for Maslenitsa, as for Christmas time?

Yes, the “Shrovetide train” is accompanied by mummers. An obligatory character among them is the Bear, they could dress up as a Goat, as a Bull - these are symbols of fertility, strength, power. Women dressed up as men, men as women. The mummers tried to dress in such a way that no one would recognize them.

To dress up meant to hide one's true face, to be unrecognized, because under the masks and disguises were not the neighbor boys or girls, but the souls of dead ancestors who had descended to earth. And they come from paradise itself, from winter to summer.