On February 24 this year, perhaps the most controversial Russian national holiday begins. It is not in any official calendar, but all the people celebrate it. For a whole week, everyone, young and old, eat pancakes, visit each other, and arrange noisy festivities.
There are several versions of the origin of this holiday. The most common of them connects the celebration of Maslenitsa with the day of the spring equinox, as well as with the festivities in honor of the Slavic god of cattle breeding and wealth Veles, which was celebrated on February 24 in a new style. But if the holiday was dedicated to Veles, then where did the tradition of burning a straw effigy come from?
The pagan world of our ancestors was multifaceted, and the holidays were dedicated to several gods at once. Remember the fairy tale in which all 12 months meet at once and transfer power to each other? So Maslenitsa meant the departure of the gods of winter, cold, death and the arrival of the gods of the sun, spring and fertility. It was not for nothing that pancakes were baked on Maslenitsa, which the ancient Slavs associated with the sun, its light, and the god who personified the sun, heat and fire was Yarilo, according to Slavic mythology, the son of Veles.
Away from the cold
It was believed that a person who bored and modestly celebrated Maslenitsa, who did not participate in general festivities and gluttony, deprives himself of wealth and luck for a whole year. As for the stuffed animal, which was carried around the villages throughout the Maslenaya week, accompanied by dancing and public vilification, it personified nothing more than Morena - the goddess of cold, winter and death among the ancient Slavs. And then on the last day of the holiday the scarecrow was burned, as if ritually transferring power from winter, cold and death to spring, fire, sun - Yarila. So, in order to stock up on luck for the whole year, you just need to overeat pancakes for a whole week …
Everything is on schedule
Promotional video:
In the old days, all seven days were celebrated in different ways.
The first day is the meeting of Maslenitsa. On this day, they completed the construction of snowy mountains, swings, comic fortresses and baked pancakes. Moreover, the first of them, according to tradition, was given to the poor for the commemoration of deceased relatives - such a tribute to the cult of ancestors. On the same day, Maslenitsa was invoked, in every possible way extolling her feminine virtues. Indeed, during the Oil Week, she had to turn from a young beautiful woman into an old woman, for which she was then burned …
On Tuesday, flirting was held: young people, having tasted the first pancakes, invited adults and the elderly, relatives, friends and acquaintances to ride down the mountains and on swings, and dance in circles.
Wednesday was called a gourmet: sons-in-law went to the famous mother-in-law's pancakes.
On Thursday, the peak of the holiday usually came, when booths, fistfights, noisy revels, and riding in daring triplets were added to the icy mountains and swings.
On Friday, the sons-in-law invited their mother-in-law to visit and treated them to pancakes.
Saturday was dedicated to sisters-in-law, whom the daughters-in-law invited to their home and again regaled with pancakes.
On Sunday, Shrovetide itself was seen off, burning its effigy. On this day, everyone asked each other for forgiveness, and it was also customary to go to the cemetery and commemorate their ancestors.
What about the others?
Almost all Slavic peoples have similar holidays. For example, in Poland this holiday is called Zapust, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia Masopust. But if we burn a scarecrow of winter, then in the Czech Republic they simply throw it into a pond or river. And in Slovakia, a straw grandfather can be put on your roof …
On a royal scale
It is known that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, every year fearing the stormy festivities of his subjects, issued several decrees in which he alternately prohibited distilling, fist fights, or swinging on a swing. But no one listened to his decrees, even the tsarevich, the future Peter I, who had a great love for Maslenitsa. With age, Peter did not stop loving Maslenitsa. Every year, opening Shrovetide festivities, he swayed with rapture on a swing with his fellow officers. The secretary of the Austrian embassy I. G. Korb wrote about this. And in 1722 Maslenitsa became a part of many historical chronicles: Peter I, on the occasion of the Peace of Nystad, put a whole fleet on a sleigh, and that one from the village of Vsesvyatsky proudly rode all the way to the Kremlin. The emperor himself, the mummers Neptune and Bacchus rode on the ships, the empress "floated" on a separate gondola. In total, more than 60 sledges participated in the procession,and the last was followed by a huge 88-gun ship with the king on board. The holiday ended with a stormy feast and fireworks. Did not lag behind Peter in the scope of the festivities and his descendants.
Magazine: Oracle Tips # 02
