One of the oldest Slavic folk holidays that have survived to this day. Shrovetide is a ceremony dedicated to the farewell to winter and the joyful greeting of spring. In fact, it was a meeting of the New Year, only at the beginning of spring (March 1, or March 23 - until the 15th century). Different regions of the state had their own, special rituals, however, the concept of the rite was the same. Of course, today's celebration format is very different from the original traditions. The dominant place is occupied by the entertainment side of the rite, including inviting guests, a fair, round dances, bonfires and, of course, a huge number of pancakes.
It is known from history that before the adoption of Christianity, people who lived in the territory of modern Russia were pagans, worshiped the sun god Yarila (according to some sources, a ritual character who personified spring fertility and sexual strength). Even then, it was customary to bake pancakes as a symbol of the sun and some expression of gratitude to the sun god for life on earth.
Later, until the 17th century, Shrovetide, as "demonic fun", was constantly condemned by the Orthodox Church. But already in the 18th century, the persecution weakened (this was facilitated by the tsars who celebrated the holiday on a special scale), and very soon this truly Russian rite was adopted by the church, regulated taking into account its interests. Today Shrovetide is considered an Orthodox (and not a pagan) festive cycle. In the Orthodox calendar, this cycle plays the role of preparing Christians for Great Lent, known for its severity and duration.
The origin of the name of the rite
There is no consensus regarding the origin of the name of this holiday cycle. More often you can come across a version according to which "butter oil", "carnival" has a gastronomic root. It is in the spring, in March, that cows calve, thanks to which there is a lot of milk, dairy products and butter in the house - "smeared". Oil, as a symbol of prosperity in the family, and a round, hot pancake as the personification of the sun, were indispensable attributes in the ritual of “anointing” the deity, striving to appease him. Indeed, the fertility of the earth directly depended on the sun.
In addition, there is an opinion that Shrovetide is rooted even deeper, and initially the ceremony was dedicated to the worship of the Slavic god of cattle breeding - Veles.
Another version of the origin of the name of the holiday is based on the assumption that meat was excluded from the diet during the Shrovetide week, but dairy products (cheese, butter, cottage cheese, etc.) are allowed for consumption. The hostesses baked butter pancakes. By the way, hence the second name of the holiday - Cheese Week.
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For the sake of justice, let us recall one more legend. It is believed that the homeland of the holiday is the far North. Once, on a harsh winter day, people, exhausted from frost, noticed Maslenitsa - the daughter of Frost, hiding behind snowdrifts, and called her to warm them, cheer them up, help them survive the cold. Shrovetide came to people, but not a little girl, which she seemed when she was hiding, but a healthy, strong woman: her cheeks were rosy and greasy with oil, her eyes were cunning, and her laughter was insidious. Carrying people into merry round dances, the daughter of Frost warmed them up and allowed them to forget about the cold. Hence the fun with which every year Russian people see off the cold and celebrate spring.
Cheese week
The week preceding Great Lent is referred to in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church as Cheese Week (seven days, a week). It comes immediately after the meat-eating week, and, according to church custom, it is intended so that a believer can prepare for Great Lent, to be reconciled with his neighbors. According to church regulations, there is no Divine Liturgy on Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week. And on Tuesday evening, the prayer of the Orthodox Saint Ephraim the Syrian is read. In addition, the divine services on the eve of Great Lent include the hymns of the Lenten Triodion, Octoichus and Menaion. On the Sabbath day, the commemoration of the monastic fathers of the church takes place.
Some rules of Maslenitsa days
Shrovetide is an ancient custom, which over time has acquired many rules, rituals, and celebration features. Within the framework of this article, we cannot afford to list the entire list of such rules. However, let's dwell on the key ones that are relevant today.
Meat is not allowed during this period, but dairy products and fish are not excluded from the diet. The main treat of the week is pancakes. They are baked throughout the week, and from Thursday to Sunday in large quantities.
A feature of the festive cycle is the permissibility of eating as much as the heart desires. The clearest proof of this can be considered numerous legends according to which the number of meals could be easily equated with the number of flapping of the dog's tail, or the sum of the crows of a crow, crows of a rooster, etc. Visiting and gluttony from home is an obligatory component of the custom.
Mass celebrations are another significant part of the festive cycle. Round dances, singing, Shrovetide rides in horse-drawn sleighs, amusing fights, burning bonfires, huge stuffed animals, fairs - motley crowds of people rejoiced at the approaching heat. In the old days, mass fun, and especially horseback riding, was of great importance for young men and women who sought to attract the attention of each other.
The whole Cheese Week should be devoted to fun and food, and you should not think about business. When Great Lent comes, things and worries will also come.
The newlyweds who got married last year enjoy special attention on this holiday. Young people are given amusing tests, put in an awkward position, and come to visit without an invitation.
On Sunday, which ends the festivities of Cheese Week, it is customary to ask for forgiveness from close people, relatives: first, the younger ones ask for forgiveness from the elders of the clan, then vice versa. In addition, they ask for forgiveness from the dead, visiting cemeteries and leaving pancakes on the graves of relatives.
Shrovetide: the conceptual component of the ceremony
As mentioned above, the holiday came to us from antiquity. Its ritual component is rather multifaceted and complex. At the center of the custom is the idea of the beginning of a new year, a cycle. Hence the other side - the stimulation of fertility in nature (man also refers to natural components). No less significant are some elements of the cult of the ancient Slavs, which are still preserved in the rites of Shrovetide. It should be noted that most traditional religions are characterized by the ratio of the new year and rituals dedicated to the creation of the world, the renewal of the universe, and the rejection of the past. In the rituals of Shrovetide, the destruction of the old and the stimulation of rebirth and fertility are conveyed in many details. These include the burning of garbage and the stuffed Maslenitsa. The funeral component of Shrovetide plays an important role in this concept. It was believed that the deadlocated simultaneously in the earth and in the other world, could influence the fertility of the earth. Hence, a special, honorable attitude to ancestors, many funeral rites.
Folk traditions for Shrovetide
Family traditions
It is obvious that great attention is paid to family traditions during Shrovetide. The theme of love and marriage is reflected in many customs. So, for example, on Shrovetide, young married couples were honored. They were subjected to various amusing tests: they arranged bride shows, rolled in the snow, forced to kiss in public, pelted them with straw or bast shoes, and even arranged a "kissing man" when guests could kiss a young wife. Young people and girls who did not marry during the past year were subjected to "punishment" in the form of various rituals and tests.
Funeral rites
An important part of the festive week. The rituals of this subject include: burning a stuffed animal, a special diet, bonfires, fortune telling on melt water (snow, as the embodiment of the souls of the dead). It was unacceptable to carry out household work for the reason that it could offend the dead who are near the living, and bring various troubles to the economy and people. In a word, Shrovetide, in its essence, is a rite of "buttering up", of pleasing higher powers for the coming year.
Special customs
Special customs include a variety of fun activities. The main place among them is sledding. Assorted teams raced across the village or city in a race. The focus, however, was on the young families that had formed in the passing winter. The couples organized peculiar shows, made visits to relatives. It happened that the groom took out his future wife into the world, to the surprise of the people. Thus, the newlyweds or future newlyweds seemed to have secured universal approval and blessing.
Another fun custom is roller coaster riding. This is a favorite pastime for both children and adults. Downhill rides on Shrovetide have always been a widespread custom. As a rule, it was attended by everyone, young and old. We rode on large and small sleds, short logs, boxes with a frozen bottom, chunks of ice from the river, overturned benches. Interestingly, the kids have been riding the slides all week, while the adults have only been on Wednesday. The newlyweds, according to custom, rolled once.
Fair
A long-standing tradition is to arrange a treat at the house at Shrovetide, to visit each other. On the streets of villages and cities, on Shrovetide, they sold all kinds of pickles, pies, pancakes, sbitn and other goodies. The fun took place on ice slides and booths, people were entertained by buffoons. Today fairs are just as fun and on a grand scale. Festivities, concerts, pancakes and tea from a samovar are an integral part of many modern fairs. The audience is entertained not only by professional artists, but also by amateur citizens. And on Forgiveness Sunday you can admire things created by folk craftsmen, and even buy something for memory.
Shrovetide week days
Until the 17th century, Maslenitsa was celebrated for 2 weeks, later it began to include only 7 days, each of which had a specific name and assumed the performance of certain rituals. Every day was full of traditional fun, religious or ritual activities.
Small carnival
In some provinces, preparations were made for Shrovetide on the Saturday preceding the onset of Cheese Week. For some, such preparation was accompanied by baking pancakes, with which the children were supposed to perform the rite of meeting Shrovetide. At others it was customary for children to collect old bast shoes around the village and meet those who came from the bazaar with the question: "Are you taking Shrovetide?" With a negative answer, the person we meet could be bit by these same bast shoes. In some localities, Saturday was dedicated to deceased parents, and pancakes were left for their souls on the shrine, on the roof or on the graves.
Meat Sunday
This is the last Sunday before Cheese Week, or Shrovetide. On this day, it is customary to visit and invite relatives and friends. The father-in-law invited his son-in-law for generous meat treats. They ate a lot and deliciously, saying: "I am looking for cheese and butter."
Maslenitsa week is conventionally divided into Narrow and Wide Maslenitsa. The first period was three days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). On these days it was possible to do any homework. And already from Thursday to Sunday, the Wide Maslenitsa began, and all economic affairs stopped.
Monday - carnival meeting
In the morning, the daughter-in-law from the house of her husband's parents went to her parents. In the evening, the father-in-law and mother-in-law also came to visit them, discussed the "program of events" for Shrovetide: the composition of the guests, places of festivities. On Monday, the hostesses began to bake pancakes. A scarecrow was collected from straw and various rags and carried along the streets.
Tuesday - play
They called Shrovetide, invited relatives and friends to visit for pancakes. The key ceremony of Tuesday is the bride's bride. We have already mentioned that special attention was paid to family and marriage during Shrovetide: matchmaking was an important part of the rituals, since on the holiday of Krasnaya Gorka (immediately after Lent), many sought to have a wedding.
Wednesday - gourmet
The mother-in-law calls her son-in-law for pancakes. Of course, other guests were also invited. But the expression of affection for the son-in-law was a key ritual on this day.
Thursday - revelry, or Broad Thursday
The Wide Shrovetide was beginning, and they had fun already on a grand scale. Horseback riding, competitions, fistfights, the seizure of the town from the snow and feasting - all this allowed the people to release the negative energy that had accumulated during the long winter days.
Friday - mother-in-law evenings
The son-in-law invited his mother-in-law, her relatives and friends to visit for pancakes baked by his wife. The key meaning of this custom was the demonstration by the son-in-law of affection for the wife's mother.
Saturday - sister-in-law gatherings
Sister-in-law and other relatives from the husband's side were going to visit the daughters-in-law. The daughter-in-law gave a gift to her husband's sister. According to church custom, the celebration of all the reverend fathers is performed on Saturday.
Sunday - seeing off carnival
This is the last day of the holiday cycle, its culmination. It is customary to ask for forgiveness from loved ones, and in the evening to remember deceased relatives. On this day, people go to the bathhouse, it is customary to get rid of the remnants of festive food. At the end of the day, an effigy of Maslenitsa is popularly burned, and the ashes are fluttered over the fields. Church custom presupposes holding the rite of forgiveness and the beginning of Lenten services.
Briefly about pancakes for Shrovetide
Damn is a Slavic word, its pronunciation is similar in many peoples. So, among Ukrainians, pancake sounds like "mlinets", in Bulgarian - "mlin" (millstone, flat and round stone). This word came from the mill business, one of the main crafts among the Slavs.
Despite the uncomplicated recipe, pancakes are a complex culinary dish that requires special skill and patience. In ancient times, each housewife had her own recipe for making pancakes for Shrovetide, passed down from generation to generation. When baking, they used flour from wheat, buckwheat, corn, adding potatoes, cream, apples, semolina. They ate pancakes all year round, but on Shrovetide - during all holidays, along with other treats.