Why is Maslenitsa called Maslenitsa? History of the Shrovetide festival

Russian Maslenitsa is a cheerful folk festival at the junction of winter and spring. This festival itself was inherited from the ancestors of the Gentiles, who also dressed up a scarecrow symbolizing the winter, and then betrayed him to the fire. It so happened that in our days many people confuse Pancake week with the Cheese week before the Great Lent: historically it turned out that after the adoption of Christianity , the pagan holiday lost its original meaning, but coincided with the vestibule of Lent.

History of origin of the name of the holiday

Why is Maslenitsa called Maslenitsa? This is a very interesting question, the study of which at one time engaged in various etymological scientists. Up to now, several legends have come up connected with the birth of this name.

One of the versions, why Maslenitsa is called Shrovetide, is closely connected with the long Russian tradition of baking pancakes. Tired of the winter, cold and snow, people thus tried to attract the mercy of the tender sun and persuade him to warm the frozen Russian land better. To this end, and prepared pancakes, speaking in this case, the symbol of the luminary. In addition, it was customary in Russian villages to carry out various actions, rituals, one way or another connected with the circle: for example, people brightly decorated the wheel from a cart and wore it along the street on a pole, traveled around the village on horseback several times and conducted traditional dances. Our ancestors were sure that such actions "cajole" the Sun, that is, they help to cajole it. Hence the name of one of the most cheerful and bright holidays in the Slavic culture.

There is another opinion as to why Maslenitsa is called Shrovetide. According to this version, the holiday was so named because, according to the Orthodox tradition, meat is already being struck out of the diet this week, and dairy products are still allowed. That's why the people are baking pancakes and butter. By the way, it was for this very reason that the Maslenitsa began to be called the Cheese Week.

If you believe other legends, then the answer to the question of why Shrovetide is called Shrovetide takes us far far to the North, and the father of this holiday is Frost. According to the legend, in the midst of the most sad and severe season of the year, winter, the man saw Pancake week, hiding between giant snowdrifts, and called her to help people with their warmth, cheered and warmed them. And she came to the call, but she did not come to be a fragile girl that hid in the middle of the snow-covered forest from a man, but a beautiful woman with ruddy cheeks and fatty cheeks, an artful sparkle in her eyes and loud laughter. She managed to get many people to completely forget about the winter for a week, so infectiously she had fun and danced. And afterwards it was in her honor that the holiday got its name.

How was Shrovetide week?

The celebration of Maslenitsa, as you know, lasted a week. And every day of these seven has its own name, which tells what to do on that day. Of course, in the modern world, it is quite difficult to observe all the customs and ceremonies of the ancient holiday, as now the Shrovetide finally lost its festive status and turned into an ordinary working week. However, it will be very interesting to learn about ancient traditions and rituals. In the days of Maslenitsa, everyone's duty was to help drive away the winter and awaken the sleeping nature.

Day 1. Monday. "A meeting"

From that day on, the Carnival began. The history and traditions of celebration are interesting in themselves. Usually on this day the people arranged and rolled ice slides. People believed that the longer the sleigh or sleigh would roll, the louder the laugh would sound over the hill, the richer the harvest would be in autumn, the longer the flax would grow. And in order for plants to grow faster, according to the beliefs, it was necessary to ride a swing, and the higher - the better. In addition, on Monday, people chose the place where they installed the Maslenitsa doll on the podium.

Day 2. Tuesday. "Flirt"

All fun games began with our ancestors on Tuesday: on this day they built booths, rode horses, visited each other. For fun and fun by tradition, treated to delicious pancakes.

Day 3. Wednesday. Gourmand

If the history of the Shrovetide holiday is gradually forgotten, it is this day, "Gourmand", is well known and remembered even in the XXI century. The name of this day speaks for itself: on Wednesday, the hostesses acted according to an old saying: "What is in the oven - everything is on the table of swords!" And on the main place amidst a huge abundance of dishes, of course, there were pancakes. There was a custom according to which the first pancake should be given to an occasional passerby, in order to commemorate the deceased, the second to the mother, the third to the father, the next three to the brothers and sisters, and the seventh was usually given to the smallest member of the family.

Day 4. Thursday. Razgulay

"Razgulay" - the fourth day of the celebration of Maslenitsa. On Thursday, people organized traditional horse riding "in the sun" (that is, clockwise around the village) - of course, to help the heavenly luminary drive away the winter completely. And the main "men's" case was considered defense or capture of a "snow town". The people broke into two teams, one occupied the position of spring, and the second desperately "defended" the winter. In the end, the spring necessarily won.

Day 5. Friday. "The mother-in-law of the evening"

Meanwhile, the Shrovetide continued. On Friday, the brother-in-law went to his mother-in-law, and she, in turn, regaled her son-in-law with delicious hot pancakes. In the window necessarily exhibited a miniature pupa-amulet, the so-called "home Carnival". It should be turned three times, saying "Turn away from evil, turn to good".

Day 6. Saturday. "The Zolovkin gathering"

"Zolovkin gathering", as well as "Lakomka", are known to this day. On this day it was customary to visit all relatives and treat themselves to pancakes.

Day 7. Sunday. "Forgiven Day"

The final day of the celebration is "forgiven Sunday", when it was necessary to ask the relatives, friends and acquaintances for forgiveness for the grievances they caused. After that, Maslenitsa saw off, with cheerful dances and songs.

This is how our ancestors spent the Shrovetide week. At all times people have tried to celebrate it as richly as possible, more satisfying and cheerful, because it was believed that if you celebrate Shrovetide so, then the whole next year will be just as happy and full. There was even a belief that it was not fun at the time of the Shrovetide - not for good, it meant "living in bitter sorrow and ending life badly." In general, the history of the Shrove Tuesday is very interesting, and all traditions associated with it can not be accommodated in one article.

"Pancake Traditions"

Finally, we will tell a few more interesting facts about the main attribute of the holiday - pancakes. Our ancestors believed that together with the Maslenitsi pancakes they were given the warmth and power of the Sun itself. Each hostess did her best to "not disdain", abundantly and tasty to treat their guests. It is interesting that each of them had his own, "secret" recipe for pancakes, which was given exclusively by the female line. Real Russian pancakes were prepared from buckwheat flour, due to which they acquired a special looseness and sour taste. Many added in them semolina or millet porridge, apples, potatoes, cream. Of course, during the Maslenitsa period, pancakes could be bought at every corner, and in snack bars and taverns they were traditionally served with sour cream, whipped cream, honey and jam, and sometimes with caviar, sprat, herring or mushrooms. Wash down pancakes usually milk or tea, in special honor was the so-called sbiten - a delicious drink from water, spices and honey.