Maslenitsa week begins. To make Maslenitsa wider, you need to approach its celebration with all the breadth of your soul. The main meaning of this holiday is farewell to winter. Decent send-off! To prevent winter from returning. For this you need to do 7 things.
Meet Shrovetide
The first day of Shrovetide was called a meeting. They did not eat the first pancake on Monday, they left it for the souls of the dead; he was taken out onto the porch with the words "Our honest dead, here is a pancake for your souls!" - or given to the poor so that they pray for peace. On this day, you also need to make an effigy of Shrovetide out of straw, put on old women's clothes, put it on a pole and carry it along the street in a sleigh with singing.
Sled down the slide
The question is for what? For a good harvest! According to the beliefs of our great-grandfathers, the further the sleigh rolls and the louder the noise and laughter over the ice slide, the better and longer flax will be born. And not only flax. Therefore, we are looking for the highest slides and create noise.
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Swing on a swing
This is also associated with an increase in the efficiency of crop production. In order for plants to grow better, you need to swing on a swing. Moreover, the higher the better.
Go to the mother-in-law for pancakes
On Wednesday we go to the mother-in-law for pancakes. It is not known for certain what this tradition is connected with. There is a version that the mother-in-law is a personalized winter that needs to be appeased. Dear sons-in-law! The main thing is to remember that it is necessary, according to tradition, to eat all the pancakes: otherwise, problems may arise with the end of winter.
Choose a suit
On Thursday, in Razgulyay, it was customary to dress up in the most incredible costumes. An overseas guest, who by the will of fate turned out to be a witness to Razgulyai, could get a nervous breakdown, colliding nose to nose with Russian mummers. Halloween could seem like child's play … By the way, in the Maslenitsa tradition there are several “images” of mummers, so choose what is closer to you in style:
Ancestors - "elders", "deceased", "tall old women".
Strangers - "beggars", "hunter", "devil" (all black with horns).
Young - "bride and groom", "pregnant woman".
Animals - "Bull", "Cow", "Horse", "Goat", "Elk", "Bear", "Dogs", "Wolves".
Birds - "Goose", "Goose", "Crane", "Duck", "Chicken".
Take the "snow fortress"
The main event of Razgulyai was the storming of the snow town, which symbolizes winter. Our ancestors preferred to build a “town” on the river or on the square of a city or village. Usually the "fortress" consisted of two walls with a gate between them. Different figures were installed on the gates made of snow: most often they were a rooster, a bottle and a glass, but you can experiment with other images as well. The participants were divided into two teams - the besiegers and the besieged. The gates must be defended by the "foot" ones, and the "horsemen" must attack. Taking the "town" means destroying it. The besieged can defend themselves with branches, brooms, and use shovels to cover the attackers with snow. The first one to break through the gate was considered the winner. Our ancestors, by the way, had a tradition of “washing” the winner in the snow.
Burn a scarecrow of Maslenitsa
On Forgiveness Sunday, according to the established Russian tradition, bowing to each other from the depths of our hearts, we forgive each other mutual grievances and sins in order to start fasting with a kind soul. After that, you can proceed to the culmination of the holiday - the burning of the Maslenitsa effigy. When Winter burns down - the final fun completes the holiday: jumping over the fire. This is how Maslenitsa ends.