Maslenitsa: Russian Pancake Week

  Maslenitsa  (Pancake Week) is a Russian holiday that has been celebrated since pagan times. The holiday is celebrated during the week before Lent.

My friend from Germany has visited Maslenitsa holiday.He got interested old Russian traditions and   even started  learning  Russian online! He says: I love this happy folk   holiday as it is funny and ruddy pancakes look like the sun!

The custom of celebrating Maslenitsa dates back to the Bacchanalia, the mystic Greek festival wine God Bacchus. But this is not an exact copy of the Bacchanalia.It was believed that those who refuse to celebrate it, will live "in a bitter misfortune”—a superstition that kept Russians celebrating the festival into modern times.

 In the 18th century, Maslenitsa included live bear shows in every Russian town.  Trained bears danced and bowed to amuse the public.

Maslenitsa remains a very popular holiday. Pancake Week is celebrated in every school, where children perform a special holiday play. To commemorate the holiday in the workplalce, staff order blini for lunch.

Maslenitsa week

Maslenitsa begins on Monday. This day is  called “Vstrecha” (Opening day). On this day people bake blini (pancakes), build snow-covered slopes where children and adults can ride down on sleds. They  make straw scarecrows and dress them in old women’s clothing  It  is symbol of winter itself aging, soon to pass away.

Tuesday – “Zaigryshi” (Game day). Children and adults build igloos, and skomorokhs (jesters) sing chastushkee (short funny songs) dressed as clowns.

Wednesday - "Lakomka" (Gourmand day).  Traditionally, the husband’s Mother-in-law invites the family over for a Pancake party. Visitors are served delicious honey gingerbreads, nuts and baked pancakes with jam, honey, caviar, sour cream, and fish.  They down warm mugs of sbiteni, the traditional drink of  Maslenitsa, a healing tincture made with honey and spices. Sbiteni  can be alcoholic (with the addition of hops) or non-alcoholic. Sbiteni  is an ancient drink--older than tea or coffee! It is believed to have healing properties and defend against colds, so people drink it in winter.

Thursday - "Razgul" (The  funniest  day). The whole village participates in all kinds of activities: sleight riding, puppet show, singing kolyada-songs. Skomorokhs amuse the audience with improvised concerts.
Friday - "Teschiny Vecherki” (Mother-in-law’s party). This time the husband hosts his mother–in-law and close relatives  for a Pancake party.  But the evening before, the mother–in-law had to send him ladles, pans and other things for pancakes making. Fathers-in-law sent some butter and a bag of buckwheat.  It is very disrespectful if the husband breaks this tradition of hosting the Pancake party.  It is considered a grave insult to his wife’s family.

Saturday –  “Zolovkiny posidelki” – (Sister-in-law’s party). A young wife gives special gifts to her sister(s)-in-law. Most often these are needlework items, such as embroidered towels and table cloths, or crocheted shawls.  If her husband doesn’t have any sisters, she gives gifts to other female family members or neighbors. On this day, the straw scarecrows are burned. Ashes are dispersed on the field to make soil fertile and offer blessings for a good harvest. 

Sunday –“Proschenoye  Voskresenye” is "Forgiveness Sunday" or “Bidding Farewell  to Winter”. People ask each other for forgiveness for any trespasses or wrongdoings they committed that year.

People light bonfires on the icy hills. The melting ice symbolizes that winter is over, and so the world is purified of evil. The holiday comes to a close, a solemn, hopeful end to a festive week

Photo:Svetlana Medvedeva celebrates the beginning of  Maslenitsa.