Oil week. Where pancakes - here we are. The history of the celebration of Shrovetide, traditions and customs

Maslenitsa is a favorite and long-awaited holiday in many families. It has long been customary that Maslenitsa is celebrated for seven whole days. This period is called "Shrovetide Week". Moreover, from year to year, the start and end dates pancake week varies.

In 2018 Maslenitsa will last from 12 to 18 February. Each of the seven days of Shrove Tuesday has its own name and its own traditions of celebration.

In the old days, Maslenitsa week was completely devoted to folk festivals. However, in reality modern world we can't give ourselves a week of vacation.

And yet it is very important to know: what is possible and what is categorically not to be done on Maslenitsa. The Church dictates its own rules, which should be especially taken into account if you are preparing for Great Lent.

Maslenitsa

Here helpful information About, what is allowed and what is strictly prohibited do on Shrove Tuesday. Eating baked goods is far from the only way pay tribute to traditions and have fun!

Maslenitsa, like many other customs, appeared long before the baptism of Rus'. In ancient times, farmers tried to propitiate higher power, To obtain good harvest. Shrovetide, which is also called Maslenitsa and pancake, used to fall on the vernal equinox, that moment in the year when warming was about to begin. Therefore, the ancient Slavs laid several meanings on the holiday at once.

Firstly, it is the boundary separating winter from spring, frost from heat. And since future harvests depended on the weather, the second meaning of the celebration follows from here. Maslenitsa was identified with mother earth. The rituals were accompanied by generous offerings, so that in return the gifts would return a hundredfold.

In modern Orthodox calendar Maslenitsa is mentioned in the context of a continuous cheese week ( last week before a long Great Lent), the holiday is considered a folk-church holiday.

Do's and Don'ts on Maslenitsa

Each day of the Maslenitsa week has its own rituals and signs.

Maslenitsa is one of the most fun and long-awaited holidays of the year., the celebration of which lasts seven days. At this time, people have fun, go to visit, arrange festivities and eat pancakes. Maslenitsa, the holiday of seeing off Winter - a pan-Slavic celebration, an analogue of the Western European carnival, marks the meeting of the seasons. The original mythological roots gradually "overgrown" with Christian meanings, which becomes especially evident on the last day of Maslenitsa - Forgiveness Sunday.

In the Orthodox calendar of church holidays, oil week has the name " cheese week”, During which it is forbidden to eat meat (but all other products are allowed), this restriction is also removed on Friday and Wednesday. The week ends with Forgiveness Sunday, after which it begins great post. It is for this reason that the Church warns the Orthodox against "unrestrained fun at Maslenitsa."

Pancake week is a national celebration dedicated to the meeting of spring. Before entering Great Lent, people say goodbye to winter, enjoy the warm spring days, and, of course, are engaged in baking delicious pancakes.

Pancakes were baked throughout Shrovetide to everyone's joy. The hostesses surprised everyone with their culinary talent, which they just did not come up with pancakes, and with cottage cheese and butter, they made cakes from pancakes. On such a bright and provocative holiday, everyone was full, no one remained hungry. Since carnival refers to church holidays, then at this time they not only had fun, but also held memorial meals. Shrovetide lasted exactly a week, and every day it was filled with celebration, festivities, traditions, fun and games.

There are several names for this holiday:

the meat-empty Shrovetide is called due to the fact that abstinence from meat occurs;
cheese - because this week they eat a lot of cheese;
Shrovetide - due to the fact that during this period they use a large number of oils.

The most popular amusements that used to be arranged in the villages were:

fist fights;
eating pancakes for a while;
sledding;
climbing a pole for a prize;
bear games;
effigy burning;
bathing in holes.

The main treat both before and now are pancakes, which can have various fillings. They are baked every day in large quantities. Our ancestors believed that those who do not have fun on Maslenitsa will live the coming year poorly and bleakly.

Maslenitsa: the meaning of every day

Each new day symbolized new holiday bringing only positive emotions:

Monday is a meeting.
Tuesday is a game day.
Wednesday - sweet, gourmet, revelry in the middle of the holiday.
Thursday - Party.
Friday - sit-in-law gatherings.
Saturday - farewell.
Sunday is a forgiveness day.

IN folk calendar every day oil week has its own name.

So on the first day of Shrove Tuesday, he Monday - Maslenitsa Day. On this day, people made a grandmother and grandfather out of straw, dressed them in bright clothes and walked all over the neighborhood, singing songs. Already by Monday, the skating rinks were flooded, slides for skating, swings were made, round dances were danced. By the end of the day, the Straw Baba was placed on the highest mountain and round dances were danced around it with songs about the joy of meeting with spring.

Tuesday - the day began with various entertainment, games, on this day all the children, young and old, played snowballs, pulled ropes, rode sleighs and horses. Mummers walked the streets in groups and sang songs. They staged theatrical performances.

Wednesday was gourmet day. According to a long tradition, a huge variety of pancakes was baked on this day and a delicious treat was prepared, so that the tables were bursting with an abundance of dishes. Tables were laid not only in the house, and on the street one could see a samovar with hot tea, pancakes with butter, honey jam, for which only fantasy would run wild.

On the fourth day - Thursday there were festivities, it was in the middle of the holiday that traditional fisticuffs and climbing on an ice pillar for a win took place for a long time. People walked from morning to night. And the newlyweds were forced to kiss, going down the icy hill on a sled, and if they refused, they could be safely thrown into a snowdrift.

Friday was a family day - mother-in-law gatherings in other words. All relatives gathered together at a large table, which was bursting with treats, on this day they could even triple the bride and groom. Mother-in-law invited their sons-in-law to pancakes in the evening and treated them to a strong drink; refusal to invite them and taste goodies was considered disrespectful and could turn into enmity.

Saturday - effigy burning time! At first, in the square on that day, songs were sung around her, they danced round dances, they thanked and revered for the past fertile and good year and then they burned it. On this day, people saw off mother - winter, and waited for the arrival of spring.

Sunday was called forgiveness day. On this day, everyone asks forgiveness from each other, Relatives, neighbors and friends go to visit each other not for gatherings at a large and tasty table, but for obedience, they will forgive forgiveness for the offenses caused.

It is no coincidence that pancakes are baked on Shrovetide, our ancestors considered them a symbol of the sun, which is not surprising, because pancakes are as round, hot and yellow as the sun. And they also believed that together with the pancakes they eat, they get a piece of solar heat and power.

Maslenitsa: traditions of celebration

In the first three days of the holiday, there was an active preparation for the celebration:

brought firewood for the fire;
decorated the huts;
built mountains.

The main celebration took place from Thursday to Sunday. They came into the house in order to treat themselves to pancakes and drink hot tea.

In some villages, young people went from house to house with tambourines, horns, balalaikas, singing carols. City residents participated in the festivities:

dressed in best outfits;
went to theatrical performances;
visited booths to watch fun with a bear and buffoons.

The main entertainment was the ride of children and youth from the ice slides, which they tried to decorate with lanterns and flags. Used for riding:

matting;
sled;
skates;
skins;
ice cubes;
wooden troughs.

Another fun event was the capture of the ice fortress. The guys were building snow town with gates, guards were put there, and then they went on the attack: they broke into the gates and climbed onto the walls. The besieged defended themselves. as they could: snowballs, brooms and whips were used.

On Maslenitsa, guys and young men showed their agility in fisticuffs. The inhabitants of two villages, landlord and monastic peasants, residents of a large village living in opposite ends could participate in the battles.

Seriously prepared for the battle:

soared in the baths;
ate well;
turned to the sorcerers with a request to give a special conspiracy to win.

Shrovetide: What is possible and what is not?

On Maslenitsa you can not eat meat food. It is allowed to eat fish and dairy products. As a main dish, pancakes should be on the table in every house.
You need to eat on Maslenitsa often and a lot. Therefore, it is customary to invite guests and not skimp on treats, as well as to go on a visit.

In fact, Maslenitsa is pagan holiday, which was eventually changed to the "format" of the Orthodox Church. In pre-Christian Rus', the celebration was called "Seeing off the winter."

Our ancestors revered the sun as God. And with the onset of the first spring days, they were glad that the sun was starting to warm the earth. Therefore, a tradition appeared to bake round cakes resembling the sun in shape. It was believed that by eating such a dish, a person would receive a piece of sunlight and heat. Over time, flat cakes were replaced with pancakes.

Carnival traditions

1. The most important thing in Shrovetide is pancakes, pancakes are favorites! This week, a variety of pancakes were baked, both yeast-based and kefir-based, thin and thick, lacy and curly, which were not baked. The first pancakes are always baked for a treat. Pancakes were baked not only from wheat flour and milk, they could also be buckwheat, porridge, hostesses baked pancake pies to surprise guests.

Recipe

Recipe for Russian buckwheat pancakes: take 3 cups of buckwheat flour, 500 ml of fresh milk, 200 ml of boiled water, 4 eggs, 100 g of butter, 4 tablespoons of yeast. Leave the dough for an hour in a warm place.

Recipe for pancakes: dilute 1 kg of flour per 1 liter of milk, add 3 eggs. Bake pancakes only on one side, put the filling on the other side as desired, wrap in tubules, brush with egg and roll in breadcrumbs, send to the frying pan to fry. Pancakes: 2 eggs, 1 kg of wheat flour, 100 g of semolina, 500 g of buckwheat flour, 3 teaspoons of yeast, 2 liters of milk and 0.5 liters of boiled water. Semolina porridge is prepared, and separately dough for pancakes, 30 minutes before baking pancakes, mix the dough with porridge and bake as always.

2. Mass festivities in the squares with songs and dances. Round dances were led on the squares, a pole was set up, at the end of which a prize was waiting for its owner, who managed to climb it. Horses were harnessed and decorated with ribbons and bells.

3. Divination, after dark, young girls they took to the streets with pancakes and asked the first man if, according to popular beliefs, this name meant the betrothed.

4. Skiing from the mountains accompanied by songs of girls. Both small and large skated, mass skating was carried out from the mountains.

5. Inviting guests- the housewives went out into the street with a dish of pancakes and ditties, invited to taste pancakes with barkers.

6. The most important tradition of the holiday is effigy burning. The burning of a straw woman and seeing off the Russian frosty winter is accompanied by songs and dances accompanied by hot pancakes and tea. Burning an effigy is a sacrifice and the birth of a new fertile life. Previously, according to tradition, they dressed up a straw woman in National Costume and transported throughout the village, and then tore it apart or drowned in the river.

7. According to tradition, people on this day should eat dairy food.

8. Must ask for forgiveness from all relatives and friends. Forgiveness Sunday, on this day there was a remission of sins, forgiveness loved one. They went to the bath to wash off the dirt, which was considered the personification of evil. Cleaned houses, put things in order.

9. This week there were brides and engagements. It was believed that Shrovetide is great occasion hold an engagement, play a wedding, people believed that the birth new family these days will be strong, happy and fertile.

10. Funeral meals. Be sure on the last day of Shrove Tuesday, before Lent, you had to go to the graves of your relatives and ask for forgiveness.

11. dressing up or who outdoes whom in dress, an ancient custom that accompanies the most important rites and folk holidays. Since pagan times, dressing has been endowed with a special magic power, but gradually turned into a game pastime for young people.

12. chants. They praised and called the girl spring with songs, honored and appeased her in songs, so that the year would be fruitful and happy.

13. Kolyada. Songs, ditties and carols - Maslenitsa could not do without them.

Since ancient times, Shrovetide has been a sign of the arrival of spring, people saw off with songs and dances cold winter and snow, bringing more sun and warmer weather into the home. There was a belief that if a person celebrates the celebration on a grand scale, then he will always have food and money in his house, but whoever decides not to celebrate the celebration will have a sad and empty house. next year. What will be the name of each day we will consider in the article.

In addition to the fact that housewives should bake pancakes for Shrovetide, this celebration has other interesting traditions to be followed. Each of the seven days of Shrovetide has its own unique name, and it also has its own rules, not many celebrating today know about them. Since Pancake week has the name of each day, it is worth talking about them in more detail.

As already mentioned, Shrovetide week has the name of each day, and she received them several centuries ago, when the holiday came to Slavic people. Today, the main rules of Shrovetide are baking sunny and hot pancakes, fairs also open on the squares, people arrange songs, dances and festivities. By main tradition, at the very end of the celebration, those walking and celebrating should burn a large effigy, it is a symbol of the outgoing winter. Since Pancake week is celebrated on the days of the week, it is worth describing each of them in more detail.

Gourmand, falls on Wednesday
Rampant, falls on Thursday

Meeting is on Monday

According to long-standing traditions, on this day, people all together should make a large scarecrow, which was decorated with old rags, attached to a large log, and then put on a sled and rolled around the village. When the skiing ended, it was necessary to install a scarecrow on the highest hill in the village, today a scarecrow is most often installed immediately before the celebration of Maslenitsa, and they put it on a large city square, where they are then burned. Previously, a scarecrow was placed on a large hill, and then they rode a sleigh on this hill, and danced with songs in this place.

Winning, fall on Tuesday

On this day, it was necessary to continue the fun that had begun on Monday, but some traditions were also added to the main entertainment, for example, people could change into colorful and bright costumes, as well as put on masks on their faces. In this form, the celebrants created small theatrical performances, to which absolutely all guests were invited, regardless of their status and position in society. It was on this day that they began to put up platforms with various delicacies and dishes, today they call it a big Shrovetide fair, which is opened on Shrovetide week.

Gourmand, falls on Wednesday

On this day, not only pancakes, but also various pies were baked in the houses of the housewives, the filling for them was cottage cheese, berries, various vegetables, but it was not allowed to add any meat. On this day, the mother-in-law should invite her son-in-law to her house, and the young man, if desired, could take all his relatives and friends with him, but the mother-in-law could not refuse the guests and regaled them with pies and dishes.

The main dishes on the table were various pies, fragrant pancakes, as well as homemade beer. In addition, on Wednesday they begin to break more tents, in which sellers sold gingerbread and nuts, hot sbiten was especially popular, and tea was served from a real shiny Russian samovar.

Rampant, falls on Thursday

This holiday was called "revelry" for a reason, because it was a real turning point in the celebration of Shrovetide. In the evening, the men gathered in a crowd and started the wall-to-wall battle. Excited men could take part in fisticuffs among themselves, and according to the rules of the fight, it was impossible to strike at the back of the head and beat the opponent below the waist. If the opponent fell, then he would definitely receive mercy, the winner was treated to pies and pancakes, both adults and children gathered for such festivities.

Mother-in-law's evening, falls on Friday

Many of the carnival traditions are aimed at speeding up marriage. young man and a young girl, but that's not all, because some customs also applied to very young couples who did not live together for so long. On this day, the son-in-law himself should invite his mother-in-law to his house to congratulate her on Shrove Tuesday, as well as treat her with various dishes. By the arrival of the mother-in-law, the young had to prepare not only goodies, but also, and the bride's parents brought gifts with them.

Sister-in-law gatherings fall on Saturday

On Saturday, a young wife should invite her husband's sister to her house to please with treats, here it is worth remembering that the hostess should try very hard to set a rich and tasty table. According to tradition, the sister-in-law should evaluate the table of the young, and not infrequently in ancient times, the husband's sister could let go of malicious remarks that the table was not too rich in goodies.

Today, the sisters-in-law are unlikely to make such jokes, but still it is worth preparing more seriously for the arrival of the husband's sister into the house. Also on this day, people could commemorate all the souls who had gone to another world, the hosts had to treat not only their relatives and guests, but also give pancakes to the beggars or the homeless so that they could also honor the memory of the dead.

Seeing off or forgiveness Sunday

By ancient tradition The last day of the Maslenitsa week is called " Forgiveness Sunday", on this day, each person could ask for forgiveness from his friends, relatives and acquaintances. Believers visited cemeteries and asked for forgiveness from already dead people, and treats were also presented to the grave. Sunday evening the whole village gathered on the mountain where the effigy stood, and burned it, thereby seeing off the winter and meeting the warm spring. In addition, according to tradition, it was necessary to kindle several large fires, where they threw pancakes and asked for fertility and good weather.

Maslenitsa is the most spacious, wildest and truly universal holiday. A cheerful farewell to the cold, boring winter and at the same time a meeting of the long-awaited spring, sun and warmth! The ancient Slavs arranged a farewell to winter and a meeting of spring in honor of the pagan god of fertility and cattle breeding Veles. After the adoption of Christianity, this holiday was preserved in Rus', and from the 16th century it began to be called Maslenitsa. Indeed, this week, the last before Great Lent, Orthodox custom meat can no longer be eaten, but butter and other dairy products can still be eaten.

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 week gluttony and fun was seen as a magical harbinger of future well-being, prosperity and success in all business, household and economic endeavors.

Maslenitsa was accepted Orthodox Church How religious holiday called cheese or "meat-free" week. This week, the Church commemorates the expulsion of the forefathers from paradise for disobedience and intemperance to believers in order to more clearly present the importance of the upcoming feat of fasting.
On Saturday, they began to celebrate the "small Maslenka". The children ran in groups around the village and collected bast shoes, then met those returning with purchases from the city or from the bazaar with the question "Are you bringing Maslenitsa?" Who answered: "No", he was beaten with bast shoes. On the same day, the guys rode with special passion from the mountains: there was a sign - whoever rides further, his family will have longer flax.

The last Sunday before Shrovetide was called "Meat Sunday". It was customary to pay visits to relatives, friends, neighbors and invite guests to Shrovetide. On "meat" Sunday, the father-in-law went to call the son-in-law to "eat up the ram."
“I’m heading for cheese and butter,” they said in the evening before the “butter”.
Shrovetide week was literally overflowing with festive affairs; ritual actions, traditional games and undertakings filled all days to capacity. There was enough strength, energy, enthusiasm for everything, since the atmosphere of utmost emancipation, general joy and fun reigned.
The whole week was called "honest, wide, cheerful noblewoman-carnival, madam carnival". Maslenitsa was often opened by children who built snowy mountains and quickly uttered a greeting to Shrove Tuesday: "Called - called honest Semik wide Maslenitsa to visit you in the yard. Are you my soul, Maslenitsa, quail bones, your paper body, your sugary lips, your sweet speech! Come to visit me in the wide yard on the mountains to ride, roll in pancakes, amuse your heart ... ". After this meeting, the children ran away from the mountains and shouted: "Maslenitsa has arrived! Maslenitsa has arrived!" Each day of Shrove Tuesday has its own name and meaning:

MONDAY - MEETING

A straw effigy of Maslenitsa was dressed up for the meeting. In the morning, the father-in-law and the mother-in-law sent the daughter-in-law to her father and mother for a day, and in the evening they themselves went to visit the matchmakers. We agreed on the time and place of the festivities. On this day, they finished building snowy cities, swings, booths.

Without pancakes, there is no carnival, without pies, there is no name day. Pancakes are supposed to be served during the whole Maslenitsa week. Pancake as a symbol of the sun was ritually eaten to the glory of Spring and the fertility of the earth. It was believed that the more you eat them in a week, the richer and more satisfying you will live in the coming year. Therefore, they were baked in the old days in different ways - from different types of flour, usually from buckwheat or wheat, from yeast or unleavened dough, or even different shapes(round, rectangular, etc.). On Maslenitsa, brushwood, cakes, cookies, pies were always baked, various curd mixtures were prepared. Many families started baking pancakes on Monday. Each housewife had her own pancake recipe and kept it a secret from her neighbors. Pancakes were baked large - in the whole pan, or with a tea saucer, thin and light. They were served with various seasonings: sour cream, jam, honey, butter, caviar. They ate pancakes with salmon, and with saffron cod, and with the famous baking, cheese, cucumbers, cottage cheese, chopped eggs, and washed it all down with sbiten, beer or wine.

At Shrovetide - the first pancake for peace.
Indeed, the first pancake baked on Shrovetide week was placed on the dormer window "for the souls of the parents" with the words:
- Honest parents ours, here's a pancake for your darling!

In some places, the first pancake was given to the poor so that they would remember all the dead. Russian Maslenitsa has always been famous for pancakes, their quality and quantity.

The central figure still turned out to be Maslenitsa itself - a doll made of straw or bast, but they always used a tree - a thin trunk of a birch. Straw, like wood, personified the exuberant power of vegetation. The doll was dressed up in a caftan, a hat, girded with a sash, shod its feet in bast shoes, put it on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh through the village. Then Maslenitsa was installed on a snowy hill, and skiing began. Or made from rags female figure with a long braid, dressed in a girl's outfit. The figure depicted a girl; a shaving brush and a pancake were attached to the hands of this figure - the main symbols of Maslenitsa. The clothes on the doll had to be with a floral pattern. The doll was decorated with ribbons, artificial flowers, ribbons were hung, tying which people made wishes. These ribbons, in order for wishes to come true, had to burn down with the doll.

There was also a "Home Shrovetide". She was called the daughter of Maslenitsa (large) or her younger sister. It was a small, 20-25 cm high, straw or bast doll with a white rag face.

"Home Maslenitsa" symbolized strong prosperity and healthy offspring of a young family. She was considered strong amulet dwellings, fulfilling the covenants of the owners of the house. They kept this doll in a red corner or at the entrance to a dwelling. On one of the days of the festive Maslenitsa week, when young people came to their mother-in-law for pancakes, this doll was put up in windows or yards. According to tradition, the bride and groom were greeted with the “Home Shrovetide”.

Maslenitsa is probably the ancient Slavic name of a forgotten mythological character who personified darkness, night. Shrove Tuesday is destroyed in order to grow a generous harvest of the new year under the generous rays of the sun. Therefore, the procession of seeing off is reminiscent of an ancient funeral rite: they burn an effigy, as they burned the dead in ancient pre-Christian times, which should not only ensure fertility, but also have a beneficial effect on livestock and people's health.

Maslenitsa was accompanied by costumed youth. Most often dressed up as gypsies. Sometimes, next to the Maslenitsa-effigy, a woman would sit in a sleigh, depicting the Maslenitsa, who was spinning oil behind a spinning loom. The train to the laughter and jokes of fellow villagers drove through the whole village and then went to the neighboring village.

TUESDAY - GAMES

Unrestrained games and fun began with him: sleigh rides, folk festivals. The center of the festive Shrovetide Square was booths, roller coasters, all kinds of swings and carousels. In large wooden buildings, performances were given with Petrushka and Shrovetide grandfather. Professional actors, amateurs, as well as circus performers performed on the stages of light temporary theaters.

Perhaps, not a single holiday in Rus' was complete without merry carnival processions of buffoons. They were not only musicians, but combined different ways entertain the boredom of the crowd: some played the whistle, others beat the tambourines, domras, others danced, the fourth showed the people the learned dogs and bears. Between them were scorners and funny poets who knew how to amuse the people with jokes, folding stories and red words. On Maslenitsa, buffoons and similar artists, so to speak, "ruled the show": it was they who led festivities, skiing, meeting and seeing off Maslenitsa, merrymaking and fair entertainment.
On Tuesday, “mummers” in goat masks and straw hats with a naked broom on a long pole walked around the yards with ritual songs. For a small fee (usually pancakes), it was possible to tie a ribbon to the rods of this broom with a slander from ailments and other adversities: the mummers would leave and take away all sorrows with the broom. In the morning, the girls and fellows were invited to ride in the mountains, eat pancakes. On this day, the youth gathered in a spacious hut for new acquaintances. Here the boys looked out for brides, and the girls furtively glanced at the betrothed.

WEDNESDAY - GOURMET

On this day, tables were laid in every family, pancakes were baked, beer was brewed in the villages. There were stalls everywhere. They sold hot sbitni (a drink made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, and honey gingerbread. Here, right below open sky, from a boiling samovar it was possible to drink tea. On Wednesday, pancakes were taken outside and treated to all neighbors and those who wished.

However, the most important event of this day was the visit of the mother-in-law by the sons-in-law, for whom she baked pancakes and arranged a real feast (if the son-in-law was to her liking, of course), and for the fun of her beloved son-in-law she called all her relatives. In some places, "Teschin pancakes" 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" - they invited them to pancakes. "There was also a former boyfriend 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": tagan, frying pans, a ladle, a tub for dough, and the father-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat and cow's butter. "The son-in-law's disrespect for this custom was considered a dishonor and insult, and was a pretext for eternal enmity between him and his mother-in-law."

THURSDAY - WIDE QUARTER, binge, fracture

On this day, the main fun began: they drove a scarecrow through the streets, rolled from the icy mountains, sang ditties, went caroling, did fistfights, played out “taking a snowy town”.

They carried a man on a sleigh with wine and rolls. They gathered at the appointed place to drink beer, mash, wine and sing songs. Old things were carried and stacked to a straw effigy outside the outskirts. They also brought a broom with slander and stuck it nearby.

Children rode from the mountains all the days of Shrovetide, while adults joined them later, from about Wednesday - Thursday. They rode down from the mountains on sleighs, on sledges, on icy mats. Skating from the mountains was attached special meaning. In the old days, for example, there was a custom "the best spinners in the family to ride from the mountains on the donets, and the one that rides further will have the best flax." All married couples in the village must roll once. Skiing from the mountains of the newlyweds was accompanied by songs that were sung mainly by girls who had gathered on the mountain and were waiting for their turn to ride. As a rule, from Wednesday, unmarried youth are also actively involved in skiing from the mountains and on horseback.

In general, riding in troikas in a race, to songs and accordion, with jokes, kisses and hugs - a typical Russian carnival entertainment, in which only babies and old people who no longer left the house took part.
A number of Maslenitsa customs were aimed at speeding up weddings, promoting single youth, and finding a mate. Most attention and honors are given to the newlyweds at Shrovetide. Tradition requires that they, dressed up, go out "to people" in painted sleighs, pay visits to everyone who walked with them at the wedding; so that solemnly, under the songs, they rolled down from the icy mountain.

FRIDAY - TASHINSKY EVENINGS

On this day, sons-in-law treated their mother-in-laws, sometimes all relatives. The son-in-law was obliged to personally invite the mother-in-law in the evening. The dressed-up son-in-law on a smartly decorated sleigh drove up to the mother-in-law's house and personally invited her to his place for pancakes.

SATURDAY - ZOLOVKA SITTINGS

A young daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place, and gave gifts to her sisters-in-law - her husband's sisters. On this day, the children built a snowy town with towers and gates on rivers, ponds and fields, then the squad was divided in half: some guarded the town, others had to take it by force.

SUNDAY - SEEING OFF THE SHIRT, FAREWELL, TSELOVNIK

On this day they saw off Maslenitsa. The straw effigy was honored, invited to return again the next year, and then they were taken out of the outskirts and burned, and the ashes were scattered across the field to give strength to the future harvest.

In the morning the children were collecting firewood for the fire to burn Maslenitsa. In the villages, on Sunday, young people in a sleigh with a stuffed Shrovetide drove around the village until dark, with songs and noise. And late in the evening she went out for the winter and here she burned a scarecrow on a prepared fire. A lot of people always gathered at the Maslenitsa fire, it was fun, many songs sounded, both old and young, treated themselves to pancakes, hot sbiten and lark buns. They said goodbye to Maslenitsa both jokingly and seriously. Throwing straw into the fire, the youth shouted: - “Get out, tattered old woman, dirty! Get out while you're still alive! They threw pancakes into the fire - "Burn pancakes, burn, Maslenitsa!" The guys, smeared with soot, tried to stain others as well. First of all, of course, the girls, and with them the mother-in-law - "Mother-in-law, Lyuli, fry pancakes!". When Shrovetide burned down, the youth jumped over the fire. With this competition in fun and dexterity, the Maslenitsa holiday ended.
Sometimes a stuffed animal was drowned in an ice-hole or simply torn apart, and the remaining straw was scattered across the field, or instead of a doll, a living “Maslenitsa” was taken around the village: smartly dressed girl or a woman, an old woman, or even an old man - a drunkard in rags. Then, to the sound of shouting and hooting, they were taken out of the village and planted there or dumped into the snow (“they held Maslenitsa”).
This fertility rite is associated with the idea of rebirth through sacrifice and death; fruitful forces of nature, its renewal life force. The destruction of the symbol of winter was necessary for the resurrection of its power in the spring in cereals. According to the idea of the ancient Slavs, the ascended grains are, as it were, a resurrected dead person; the death of grain in the soil is necessary for the rebirth of its new life in the ear.

In the same place, where they did not make stuffed Maslenitsa, the ceremony of "seeing off Maslenitsa" consisted mainly in kindling village fires on a hill outside the village or near the river. In addition to firewood, they threw all sorts of junk into the fires - bast shoes, harrows, purses, brooms, barrels and other unnecessary things previously collected by children throughout the village, and sometimes stolen specially for this. They believed that all troubles would be carried away by millions of sparks from this fire. Sometimes they burned a wheel in a fire, a symbol of the sun, associated with the approaching spring; it was often worn on a pole stuck in the middle of a fire.
After the burning of Maslenitsa, no one lit a fire in the house, even a candle was not lit that day. And in the morning, the ashes from the fire were scattered over the fields for a rich harvest. All the remaining bread treats were given to cattle, or even thrown away. Even the poorest person would not eat any of the leftovers from Shrovetide.
On the eve of Great Lent, in an effort to cleanse themselves of everything sinful, people asked each other for forgiveness. “Forgive me,” asks one. “God forgives, and I forgive,” replies another.
Therefore, the last day of Maslenitsa is also called "Forgiveness Sunday." Asking for forgiveness should, as usual, be accompanied by bows and a triple kiss. For the same purpose, on Forgiveness Sunday, they went to the cemetery, left pancakes on the graves. Farewell between the family took place after dinner, before going to bed. On this day, all insults and insults are forgiven. On the day of Forgiveness Sunday, pious people went to monasteries, to ancient cathedrals, to bow to the holy relics and especially revered shrines; they went to receive a blessing to the bishops, rectors of churches, venerable monks; visited the homes of relatives and friends, everywhere and from everyone asking for forgiveness and blessings.
On this day, a solemn ceremony of mutual forgiveness is performed in monasteries, cathedrals and temples.

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 used to “rinse 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 organized to “shake out pancakes”. On Clean Monday, they always washed in a bathhouse, and women washed dishes and “steamed” milk utensils, cleaning it of fat and remnants of squid.

Very soon, so loved by the family Holy holiday Shrovetide. Pancake lovers want to find out as soon as possible when Shrove Tuesday will be in 2018. We hasten to please, this year the holiday will be early, which means that very soon we will have a week of fun and delicious pancakes.

In 2018 Maslenitsa is celebrated from 12 to 18 February. The celebration of spring is known not only for its fun and pastries, but also folk omens. folk wisdom passed down from generation to generation, and has not lost its relevance to this day.

If we celebrate Maslenitsa in 2018 according to all the rules, then according to folk beliefs happiness and good luck will be with you all year long.

The most effective signs for Maslenitsa

If the first pancake came out delicious and did not burn, the girl will find her love this year.
On the edge of the pancake, it is easy to judge what life in the family will be like: even - peace and love, torn - to quarrels.
There are many holes on the pancake - replenishment is coming in the family.
A burnt pancake on the sides - the husband's infidelity, fried in the middle - the loyalty and devotion of a loved one.
thin pancakes - a year will pass without problems and worries, thick pancakes - there will be many difficulties.
If you get a lot of delicious pancakes - to the money.
Having forgiven all your enemies, you should expect great happiness this year.
During children's competitions, luck will come to the family whose child won.
In order for money to flow all year round, you need to generously treat uninvited guests.
If Maslenitsa is frosty, summer will be hot.

Divination for Shrovetide

Protection from evil forces

It is held on the first day of the holiday. It is necessary to go out late in the evening or at night into the courtyard and say:

“Evil spirits bypass my house. I close the doors for you forever. Count the grains of sand in the sea, and until you count them, so that your spirit is not here.

For a wish to come true

They do it on the last day of Maslenitsa (Sunday). Before going to bed, they go out onto the street or balcony, look at the sky, choose one star with their eyes and say, looking at it intently:

"The star is beautiful! Shine bright, let the clouds bypass you. Shine on the joy of people who believe! Bring us happiness! Come visit my house (Name), let your light fill every corner. Fulfill my wish!" Next, say a cherished desire.

If after this conspiracy you have a dream, it will certainly be prophetic.

A conspiracy for a husband to be faithful

You can do it on any day of the holiday. And it's better every time you start baking pancakes. When kneading the dough and laying another pancake in the pan to bake, say the prayer “Our Father”, and then these words:

“Let my husband (Name), eat as much as he wants, drink plenty, and remember his wife every second. Let as soon as he leaves the threshold of the house, unbearable longing will fill his soul. May he not rest until he crosses the threshold of the house again. May his love for his wife (Name) grow stronger every day.

First, let your spouse try freshly baked pancakes, and only after that offer the rest of the guests.