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 ends the series preparatory weeks to 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 the 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. V 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 made 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 a trizna - memorial events, which included sacrifices, mourning crying, 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 leading role it was the fair sex that played in the merry ceremonies. 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 was supposed 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 Afanasiev, late XIX centuries, 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. Spring songs had the same sacred meaning, performed by girls in the forests, on the edges, in groves and on the banks of reservoirs - they seemed to call on the forces of good to the earth, asking for a blessing 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 Maslenitsa) 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 secondly, these days, for the first time in a year,
Shrovetide is a truly multifaceted holiday and is celebrated by everyone European nations, the traditions of the holiday were laid down in ancient times, when people lived according to the laws dictated by nature itself. This is already later, when the Jews pulled off their most successful business project, called the Bible and the Church, weaving in the same hero of many folk epics under the name Jesus, and remaking folk traditions under church holidays, this model of perception of the universe was imposed on people. Imposed mainly by fire and sword or deceit. And Maslenitsa is, first of all, a farewell to the winter period, it is the awakening of nature, and for many peoples it was a celebration of the New Year. And after the holiday, an unchanging fast came (not tied to the resurrection of Christ :)) - the autumn stocks were coming to an end, and for all animals, from January to April, the period of birth and feeding of babies, so meat was excluded. And baking flour products, and among many peoples, not only among the Slavs, it is pancakes, is also a festive tradition. Of course, for all peoples, depending on their geographical location, the traditions of celebrating this event were very different. It's hard to imagine Capturing a snowy town somewhere in Spain or throwing mimosa branches on this holiday in our Urals...:)
"Shrovetide is a shameful holiday! Otherwise, they just don't worship" God "- says M Dowal. I think otherwise. It's not necessary to worship someone all the time. It's not for nothing that the Russian people say: "Make a fool pray to God - he will hurt his forehead!" And even to show the joy of life means to thank the Creator, but the truth is that Shrove Tuesday has nothing to do with Christianity.
When pagan worship is intertwined with Orthodoxy, a real hybrid comes out, not a holiday. The worship of God was replaced by the worship of nature. If the author writes that Christianity is tolerant, then why not join the ancient Slavic worship of Perun to some other Orthodox event and call it tolerance. If the Bible clearly states that it is proper for a Christian to worship God alone, then let each believer draw the appropriate conclusions for himself, and if a Christian is tolerant in everything, is this Christianity? How then will Christianity differ from the worldly?
http://www.veronavisita.it/?p=61362) Solomon in Ecclesiastes from the first lines writes "There is nothing new under the sun", but does it cancel the biblical scripture, and does it not supplement it? life path people are really similar in many ways, each of us goes through the same circles (cyclicality), but the improvement of the spirit of each and society as a whole determines the linear course of history from the Old Testament.
I wrote what I knew. Sorry if I made a mistake.
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 tsars 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 milk in the house. butter. 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 in our days, the first half of January, Russia indulges in a holiday, so in ancient times our ancestors met on a grand scale New Year 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 the celebration of Shrovetide, once again confirming that changing the dates of Shrovetide week is not best idea for the 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 masqueraded pseudo-patriarch at the head of the “most joking and most drunken cathedral” with a cross made of tobacco pipes, a censer with tobacco smoke and, to top it all, serving the 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 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 a feast under open sky, 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 the villages and villages, they flooded their own slides, but on 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 with hot sbitny (a soft drink made from hot water, honey and spices), gingerbread, pies, nuts and other street treats were pitched on the streets. 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 feast is in honor of bringing Holy Mary baby Jesus Christ to the church and meeting with Elder Simeon on the way. 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- v modern language this is unambiguous - 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.
Which is celebrated with rejoicing in the soul and heart. It is considered a Slavic holiday and lasts a week or three days before Lent, incorporating rituals, customs, signs, which are based on mythology.
Each Slavic people has a different name
And indeed it is. From the time ancient Russia and until now in Russia the holiday was called and is still called Maslenitsa. But the Ukrainians warmly call him Maslyanitsa. Belarusians have a different carnival. The Poles have a buttermilk. The Macedonians do not have the usual alignment for the ear - a week is pristina. But the essence of the holiday with all the different names is almost the same with only slight differences. Among the Eastern Slavs, the Maslenitsa week is the border of winter and spring, and, for example, in the Russian Orthodox calendar it is also called the cheese week or the meat-eater. But it is certainly accompanied by fun, jokes, jokes. To the liking of both adults and their children. An analogue of carnivals in European countries. Akin to "fat Tuesday and meatless". The date of the feast varies depending on the day of Easter. For example, in 2016 Maslenitsa was celebrated from 7 to 13 March. It is noteworthy that even among the Russian Slavs, the holiday is distinguished by many names: Shrovetide, Shrovetide, Shrovetide week, world holiday, pancake, pancake week, roundabout. At the same time, Russians indulge their appetite with pancakes and flat cakes, while Ukrainians and Belarusians indulge in dumplings and cheesecakes. At the same time, the ritual side is associated with the cult of ancestors. In pre-Christian times, all thoughts were connected with the spring equinox, the beginning of a new year. But the main purpose of Shrove Tuesday is to take care of fertility in connection with the upcoming spring field work. Actually, efforts were also made to increase the fertility of people.
What just didn’t go into its manufacture - straw, hay, outdated things in the form of magnificent sundresses, padded jackets, multi-colored ribbons on fantastic headdresses. And how they tried on the face masks! Here you have white and blush on your cheeks, and brightly drawn eyebrows and eyelashes. And the whole figure of Shrovetide was made vigorous and magnificent. And at the end of the holiday, the scarecrow was burned, the ashes were scattered across the fields. To increase fertility. If the stuffed animal was torn apart, then the straw was also used as fertilizer. It happened that a scarecrow was ruthlessly drowned in a pond, river or hole. His death meant the birth of the future, new forces, the fertility of not only livestock, but also people, in particular, young and ardent. Let's add to the above - the manufacture and burning of an effigy is not only a pagan essence. To a greater extent, this is not a semblance of an idol, but a rite that is based on folk gaming roots.
Shrove Tuesday was not for everyone
Patriarch Andrian (1637-1700), in particular, resolutely opposed it. His full title is Most Serene Cyrus Andrian, Archbishop of Moscow and All Russia and Patriarch of all Northern Peoples. And he even intended to cancel the pagan, in his opinion, holiday. But he didn't. Unless he reduced the days in it. And he especially did not like revelry and violence on Shrove Tuesday. In the Mother See, for example, the guards, instead of keeping order, got drunk to death. We noted the relationship of carnival with the Western carnival. But it was also distinguished by excessive violence, which was opposed by foot and horse guards, who patrolled the streets and squares on patrol. But even to this day, Shrovetide remains noisy, riotous, daring, and nothing can be done about it. In addition, the Slavs do not associate Shrovetide with paganism. And among her rites there are those that are approved by the church itself. As for excessive gluttony, people think this way - Great Lent is ahead, you will have to give up a lot of food. That's Shrove Tuesday and you need to eat as much as possible. Including pancakes, which are mistakenly perceived by some as a kind of sun. In fact, pancakes are more associated with the rite of remembrance. Recall that a meal for the deceased is necessarily accompanied by the presence of pancakes on the memorial table. And on Shrove Tuesday, they also commemorate deceased parents and relatives with pancakes, which will be discussed later.
motley week
It is noted that in some places, including in Russia, they have been preparing for the Maslenitsa meeting since the Saturday preceding the Motley Week. The owners sent children of eight to ten years old to celebrate the holiday and gave pancakes, with which they rode on a tong or a poker and shouted loudly: "Goodbye snotty winter! Come red summer! Plow, beard, and I'll go plow!" From Saturday, the Small Maslenitsa is celebrated. In the old days, children ran around the village and collected worn-out bast shoes. Then they met those returning from the city with gifts and asked: "Do you believe in Shrovetide ?!" If someone answered: "No!" -mercilessly beaten with collected bast shoes. In Belarus and in some regions of Russia, on the Saturday before Shrove Tuesday, parents' day was celebrated - the first of the year. They baked pancakes, and the first one was placed on the shrine or on the dormer window or on the roof of the house or on the graves of their ancestors. Children were also treated with a request to specifically remember one of the deceased relatives or friends. In the morning for breakfast or in the evening for dinner, the dead were invited to the table. Dishes were prepared from beef, pork, lamb. After the meal, the food was not removed, it remained on the table. It was believed that under the cover of night, dead parents come out of the oven and eat what was left. After Saturday came Sunday. before Maslenitsa - Meat Sunday. It was supposed to eat meat twelve times, slurp cabbage soup twelve times. Visit and invite.
Oil Week
She was advancing after the said resurrection. And it was divided into Narrow Shrovetide and Wide Shrovetide. At the same time, the narrow one fell on the first three days of the week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Broad - Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The first three days were busy. On Thursday, it stopped and the Wide Maslenitsa began. Each day of Shrovetide had its own name.
Monday
Meeting. The place for the festivities was determined. A guest list was made. We decided where to build a snow hill, a town, where to put a booth, a swing. What to make and where to put a stuffed carnival. They baked pancakes. The first is for the poor in remembrance of the departed.
Tuesday
The boys played with the girls. Bridesmaid reviews were held. Matchmakers were sent to, after Lent, to play a wedding in Krasnaya Gorka. Young people were invited to ride the slides and eat pancakes. The barker shouted loudly: "We have snow mountains ready, pancakes are baked, please favor!"
Wednesday
She was also called a gourmand. In the afternoon - to the mother-in-law for pancakes. By the way, she baked them herself, she treated them herself. And she was cordial, hospitable - and you will not be overjoyed. And the son-in-law forgot past grievances, forgave them. Hugs, kisses - of course!
Thursday
That's what it was called - take a walk! Or Broad Thursday. Or Shrovetide Thursday. Or Fat Thursday. It marked the beginning of the Broad Maslenitsa. All work stopped. Horseback riding. Fist fights. Various kinds of competition. Revels. Among the competitions, the main thing is the capture of a snowy town built before Shrove Tuesday. Well, of course - bonfires, jumping through their flames. And pancakes, pancakes, pancakes. Including with a variety of fillings - meat, liver, red or black caviar (in the distant past it was enough, and it cost a penny!), cherries, apricots and so on.
Friday
Another name is Mother-in-law's evenings. Now she has come to visit. With a return, as they say, visit. She is adopted by her son-in-law. My wife bakes pancakes. The same kisses and hugs. Forgiveness of past wrongs. And a rich meal. With pancakes with different fillings. Here the wife should not lose face in the dirt. Please your mother-in-law with delicious pancakes and other festive pickles.
Saturday
Otherwise, it is also called Zolovkin's gatherings. A young daughter-in-law cordially invites her sister-in-laws and other relatives of her beloved husband. Of course, before receiving guests, she needs to prepare well, And so that the house sparkles with cleanliness. And a rich table was laid, the main treat of which would be pancakes, as they say, piping hot. It did not hurt to take care of worthy and generous gifts. And so that when leaving the hospitable house, the sisters-in-law would later recall for a long time the kind welcome and honor shown to them by their daughter-in-law. On Saturday, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Synod of All the Reverend Fathers.
Sunday
This is the culminating day of Shrove Tuesday. He is also called the kisser and forgiveness resurrection. For the most part, people are not so sinless. There are quarrels and resentments between them. And something even worse. So we need to ask each other for forgiveness. At an unexpected or planned meeting, but in today's reality with its amazing technologies, both at home and on cell phones. But first, congratulations on the last day of Shrovetide should be heard. Then already - a request to forget past grievances, not to keep a "stone in your bosom" for voluntary or involuntary troubles delivered to relatives or neighbors, Forgive, and live on in peace, friendship and harmony! Someone answers: "I forgive!", And others: "God will forgive!". On the last day of Shrovetide, that is, on forgiveness Sunday, it is customary to go to the graves of parents, relatives, deceased dear friends. Say goodbye to them. Put pancakes brought from the festive table on a commemorative plate. Other good Christians are not averse to going to a hot bathhouse that day, which is not forbidden. And after the steam room, plunge headlong into the ice hole. Just for a moment, in order to protect yourself from a cold.
By the way, the leftovers of food are burned at the end of Shrovetide, the dishes are thoroughly washed. And they burn the effigy. They collect ashes from it, scatter it across the fields for a future bountiful harvest. The rite of forgiveness, the evening service, is held in the temples. And at the same time, it also sounds: "God will forgive!". Great services begin. Pass tuzhilki on Shrove Tuesday. After burning the effigy, others threw traditional funeral food into the fire - pancakes, eggs, cakes. Thus, saying goodbye to the departed and to Shrovetide, which will return to those celebrating it again in a year. And she was also called Shrove Tuesday because they ate a lot of butter all the days. Once again, it would be appropriate to say - pancake week is a festive celebration of the meeting of spring. Before entering Great Lent, the Orthodox people say goodbye to winter. rejoices in the warmth, bakes pancakes.
There are many of them among Orthodox people and especially young people. Fisticuffs were and are popular now. Sometimes street to street. But without inflicting, of course, serious wounds. Although many guys and men of mature age were, as they say, in a rage. As a result, after Shrovetide, they walked in bruises and bruises. But all this is good. No evil. They competed in eating pancakes - who will master them more. In the dexterity of climbing the skinned pillars for gifts at the very top. In the course there were games with bears, swimming in the hole - all in order to show strength, dexterity, hardiness and thereby please Shrovetide, themselves, relatives and comrades. Proverbs and sayings remind us of Shrovetide of distant years. One of the well-known so far: "It's not always Shrovetide for a cat!" or "Shrovetide is a mess, money is a mess!" There are others - "There is no Shrovetide without pancakes!", "It's not oily without a pancake!", "Pancake is not a wedge: it won't split the belly!", "Pancake is a relative of the sun", "Like pancakes flew to the ceiling during Maslenitsa" Seeing off Shrovetide ended with general kisses. And how they rode down the hills - some on fast sleds, skates, some on mats, and others in wooden troughs. Depending on whether you are poor or rich. But everything is dashing, with enthusiasm, pleasure and joy. And for a long time afterwards they remembered Maslenitsa - a truly national holiday of the Slavs and not only Russians!
Not pagan, but ecclesiastical
Folk Maslenitsa begins a day earlier than church Maslenitsa. The secular celebration was established by the Decrees of Peter the Great in the image and likeness of the European carnival. And the sovereign defined her as "all-joking, all-drunk, like the most madcap cathedral." Held in the days of the church cheese week with an eight-day revelry, drinking and gluttony - a Russian secular holiday from the Sunday of the "meat spell" to the Sunday of forgiveness. Let us emphasize once again that Maslenitsa is not a pagan holiday, and has no pagan roots. Maslenitsa is celebrated Orthodox Church as far back as the sixteenth century, to oust from the consciousness of sincere believers the pagan solar holiday of the meeting of spring - the comedian, who celebrated the vernal equinox, in other words, the beginning of astronomical spring. Maslenitsa - preceded Lent. At the same time, we note that the dates of Shrovetide are mobile and are associated with lunar calendar and hence with the movable dates of Pascha, which is preceded by a seven-week Great Lent. This is the last week before Lent. For Catholics, carnival is called carnival. The pagan holiday of the vernal equinox is called Nuvruz by Muslims, and by Kazakhs, in particular, Nauryz. As for komoyeditsa, this is one of the ancient great pagan Slavic holidays. And the day of his meeting never changes. It falls on the date of the spring equinox - March 20, however, due to the presence of time zones, the date may increase by a day. Therefore, they call the 21st day of the first spring month. What is the spring equinox? This is an astronomical phenomenon when the sun in its apparent movement crosses the celestial equator. In other words, the luminary moves from the northern hemisphere to the southern. The comedian also has a scarecrow as the main attribute. But not Shrovetide, but Madder (winter), and it is also burned according to the ancient rite. Admirers of the holiday worshiped the bear, which on the day of the spring equinox woke up and left the lair. Bear according to the old Slavic KOM. Hence the comedian. They baked pancakes and laid them out on stumps for bears. For them to enjoy. For this circumstance, and was born: "The first pancake is lumpy." True, now with a different connotation - the first pancake is not always obtained, like all ordinary pancakes, but is removed from the pan with a lump. Saying goodbye to winter on the last day, they burn a stuffed madder. Where is the pagan holiday celebrated? Of course, in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. But it is also celebrated in other countries and even in the state rank with a day off. The holiday of the komoeditsa, in another way - the awakening of the bear, personifies the god of cattle and the god of wealth. From March 23, the days become longer than the nights. The sun (for the ancient Slavs yarilo) melts the snow. The pagan holiday in Russia is celebrated especially with pleasure and joy by communities of different faiths.
Maslenitsa is the week before Lent, the longest and strictest in church calendar. In it is also called Cheese Week. Its dates vary every year and are calculated according to a special schedule. The dates of Maslenitsa depend on the dates of Great Lent, and those, in turn, depend on the date of Easter.
Great Lent lasts six weeks plus the seventh - Holy Week. It starts no earlier than April 2 and ends no later than April 24. The period from 8 to 21 always falls on fasting. Knowing the date of the beginning of Great Lent, you can find out the date of the beginning of the Maslenitsa week.
In 2014 Pancake Week is from February 24 to March 2. In 2013, it lasted from March 11 to 17, and in 2015 it will be from February 16 to 22.
Shrovetide traditions
In accordance with church canons, eggs, cheese, fish and dairy products are allowed all week, but meat is forbidden. The meaning of Cheese Week is forgiveness of offenses and reconciliation with neighbors.
Concerning folk traditions, Maslenitsa is associated with the farewell of winter and the meeting of spring. On these days, folk festivals are held, obligatory pancakes are baked, and on the last day of the Maslenitsa week, an effigy of Maslenitsa, symbolizing the passing winter, is burned.
On Shrovetide Monday, a married daughter goes to visit her parents. In the evening, her husband's parents also come to the matchmakers. By this day, the snow slides are being completed. The first baked pancake should traditionally be given to the poor - in remembrance of the dead. An effigy of Maslenitsa is assembled from straw and old clothes.
In the traditions of the Maslenitsa week, church rituals and ancient pagan rites of the Slavs were closely intertwined.
Tuesday is a win. In the old days, brides were held on this day. Guys and girls rode from the mountains, had fun. The women baked pancakes.
On Wednesday, sons-in-law came to their mother-in-laws for pancakes.
Thursday - Walk around, or the first day Wide Maslenitsa. On this day, folk festivals, fun, games, fistfights, horseback riding were organized. All business activities were stopped.
Friday - mother-in-law evenings. On this day, the mother-in-law comes to the son-in-law, and her daughter bakes pancakes, and his wife.
Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings. A young daughter-in-law invites all her sister-in-laws and other relatives of her husband to visit.
Sunday - Forgiveness day and farewell to Maslenitsa. Everyone asks each other for forgiveness. In some provinces, it was customary to go to the cemetery on the last day of Maslenitsa. Traditionally, an effigy of Maslenitsa was burned on this day.
