Mother-in-law's pancakes and sister-in-law's get-togethers
Maslenitsa 2010 will begin on February 8 and will last until February 14. In Russia, Maslenitsa has always been considered the most exuberant and fun time of folk festivities.Maslenitsa precedes Lent and depends on its timing. It's already Maslenitsa you can't eat meat food. The meat-eating period (the period separating the winter, Nativity Fast from the spring, Great Lent) is coming to an end, and Sunday on the eve of Maslenitsa turns out to be the last day when it is allowed to eat meat. That is why this day received the name “Meat Conspiracy” among the Russian people. During Maslenitsa you can eat dairy products and fish. However, the main dish is of course, which is baked every day.
Maslenitsa "schedule"
Monday - Maslenitsa meeting
On this day, they made a stuffed animal out of straw and put an old one on it. women's clothing, they put this scarecrow on a pole and, singing, drove it on a sleigh around the village. Then Maslenitsa was staged on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began.
Tuesday - flirt
From this day on, all sorts of things began: sleigh rides, folk festivals, performances. On the streets there were large groups of masked mummers, driving around familiar houses, where cheerful home concerts were held impromptu. In large groups we rode around the city, in troikas and on simple sledges. Another simple entertainment was also held in high esteem - skiing from icy mountains.
Wednesday - gourmet, mother-in-law pancakes
On this day, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law to pancakes, arranging a real feast. This is one of the main events of Maslenitsa week.
Thursday - revelry, wide Thursday
Day of fist fights. You cannot hit someone who is lying down, two people can attack one and hit you below the belt, but you can fight wall to wall.
Friday - mother-in-law evenings
If on Wednesday the sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law, then on Friday the sons-in-law held a “mother-in-law party” - they invited them to pancakes. The mother-in-law was obliged to send in the evening everything necessary to prepare pancakes: a frying pan and a ladle, and the father-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat and cow butter. The son-in-law's disrespect for this event was considered dishonor and insult and was the reason for eternal enmity between him and his mother-in-law.
Saturday - sister-in-law's get-togethers
Sister-in-law is the husband's sister. On this day, the young daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place. As a rule, on the same day, a dressed up Maslenitsa - a straw effigy - was carried on a stretcher to the end of the village and there, with songs, they were “buried”: a large bonfire was made, and Maslenitsa was burned in it. They had fun around the fire: they sang songs and danced.
On the last day of Maslenitsa - Forgiveness Sunday It is customary to ask for forgiveness from all relatives and friends, to which they usually answer “God will forgive!”
Many folk jokes, songs, proverbs and sayings are associated with Maslenitsa: “It’s not Maslenitsa without a pancake”, “Ride in the mountains, roll in pancakes”, “Not life, but Maslenitsa”, “Maslenitsa is a mess, you’ll save money”, “At least from yourself” pawn everything and celebrate Maslenitsa”, “It’s not all Maslenitsa, but there will be Great Lent.”
On February 20, Orthodox Christians begin to celebrate Maslenitsa week, which will last until February 26. We tell you according to what schedule it should be celebrated in our “Question and Answer” section.
What's happened Maslenitsa week?
Maslenitsa is a holiday of farewell to winter, which has come to us since pagan times. For many centuries, its main attribute has been pancakes, which are baked throughout the entire Maslenitsa week.
The holiday got its name because at this time it is allowed to eat fish, dairy products and butter. But eating meat is prohibited. In Orthodoxy, this period is called Cheese Week. This week is also called meat fasting, because believers are already preparing for fasting at this time and do not eat meat.
According to what schedule is it customary to celebrate Maslenitsa?
The entire Maslenitsa week is divided into two periods. The first three days, from Monday to Wednesday, are called Narrow Maslenitsa. At this time, housewives were still allowed to do housework.
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On Monday it was customary to start baking pancakes. On this day, such a delicacy should be treated to the poor and needy. It was also customary to make a scarecrow of Maslenitsa. Tuesday is called flirting. On the second day of Maslenitsa week, brides were shown in order to have a wedding after Lent on Krasnaya Gorka. And, of course, we baked pancakes for our dear guests. On Wednesday, the son-in-law was supposed to visit his mother-in-law for pancakes.
And when does the mother-in-law go to her son-in-law’s for pancakes?
Started on Thursday Wide Maslenitsa, which was characterized by celebrations and festivities. On the fourth day, they traditionally rode sleighs, horses, and always organized the capture of a snow fortress and fist fights.
Friday is called mother-in-law's evening. And on this day the mother-in-law should stay with her son-in-law and taste his pancakes. On Saturday we had “sister-in-law get-togethers”. On this day, young daughters-in-law invited their sisters-in-law and other relatives of their husbands to visit them to give some gift.
The last day of Maslenitsa is Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, people ask each other for forgiveness before the start of Lent. They also arrange a farewell to winter and burn an effigy of Maslenitsa, which marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. In the evening they remember the dead and go to the bathhouse.
They kept life peaceful
Habits of a dear old man;
At their Shrovetide
There were Russian pancakes;
Twice a year they fasted,
Loved Russian swings
Podblyudny songs, round dance...
Pushkin A.S.
Maslenitsa, cheese week (before the spelling reform, also often Maslenitsa) is a festive cycle that has been preserved in Rus' since pagan (pre-Christian) times. The ritual is associated with seeing off winter and welcoming spring. After the baptism of Rus', Maslenitsa is celebrated in the last week before Lent, seven weeks before Easter. The main attributes of Maslenitsa are pancakes and folk festivals.
Before the Baptism of Rus' (the introduction of Christianity), Maslenitsa was celebrated for 7 days preceding the day of the Spring Equinox, and 7 days after this day. Maslenitsa is the time when Nature awakens and the Sun-child Kolyada becomes the youth Yarila, and the hormonal system is reconfigured in the human body, preparing for the spring form of activity. The Christian Church left the main celebration of Spring, so as not to conflict with the traditions of the Russian people (Christmas was similarly timed to coincide with the Winter Solstice, but shifted the people’s favorite holiday of seeing off winter in time so that it would not conflict with Lent, and shortened the duration of the holiday to 7 days .
Traditions and rituals of celebration
“Maslenitsa is a mischievous and cheerful farewell to winter and a welcome to spring, bringing revival in nature and the warmth of the sun. From time immemorial, people have perceived spring as the beginning of a new life and revered the Sun, which gives life and strength to all living things. In honor of the sun, unleavened flatbreads were first baked, and when they learned how to prepare leavened dough, they began to bake pancakes.
The ancients considered the pancake a symbol of the sun, since it, like the sun, is yellow, round and hot, and they believed that together with the pancake they eat a piece of its warmth and power.
With the introduction of Christianity, the celebration ritual also changed. Maslenitsa got its name from church calendar, because during this period of time - the last week before Great Lent, eating butter, dairy products and fish, differently this week in Orthodox Church called cheese. The days of Maslenitsa change depending on when Lent begins.
Among the people, every day of Maslenitsa has its own name.
Monday - meeting. Mountains, swings, and booths were completed for this day. Those who were richer began to bake pancakes. The first pancake was given to the poor to commemorate the dead.
Tuesday - flirting. In the morning, young people were invited to ride from the mountains and eat pancakes. They called relatives and friends: “We have the mountains ready, and the pancakes are baked - please be kind.”
Wednesday - delicacies. On this day, the son-in-law came “to his mother-in-law for pancakes.” In addition to the son-in-law, the mother-in-law invited other guests.
Thursday is a big revelry. From this day on, Maslenitsa unfolded in all its breadth. The people indulged in all sorts of fun: ice mountains, booths, swings, horse riding, carnivals, fist fights, noisy parties.
Friday is mother-in-law's evening. Sons-in-law invited their mothers-in-law to visit and treated them to pancakes.
Saturday - sister-in-law's get-togethers. Young daughters-in-law invited their sisters-in-law to visit them. The newlywed daughter-in-law had to give her sister-in-law some gift.
Festive festivities The last day of Maslenitsa is Forgiveness Sunday. Everyone asks each other for forgiveness, bows at their feet, and in response they hear: “God will forgive.” In the Orthodox Church it is believed that the meaning of Maslenitsa is reconciliation with neighbors, forgiveness of offenses, preparation for Lent - time that should be devoted to good communication with neighbors, family, friends, and charity. Lenten services begin to be held in churches. On Wednesday and Friday the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated, the Lenten prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read.
[edit] Interesting facts
There are similar holidays in other countries, primarily German (for example, Switzerland). German version of Maslenitsa: Fastnacht.
Well, we have a week ahead of us! No matter what door you knock on, they’re baking pancakes everywhere, but you’re invited to try it, but you can’t refuse—the owners will be offended. But it’s not enough to eat and have fun, you need to do everything according to the rules. In order not to forget anything important, here is your schedule for the whole week.
Monday: make a scarecrow
On Monday it was supposed to be Maslenitsa: they built snow slides, swings, built a scarecrow and started baking pancakes. The first pancake was given to poor people to remember the dead.
Tuesday: shout from the mountain
Tuesday was called “flirting” - on this day brides’ viewings took place, and Maslenitsa was supposed to be called with the words: “Our snow mountains are ready and pancakes are baked, welcome!”
Wednesday: go to your mother-in-law's for pancakes
Wednesday - “gourmet”, when the famous mother-in-law pancakes were baked, which were treated to the son-in-law and other guests.
On Thursday: have a party
Thursday was called “revelry,” from which, in fact, Broad Maslenitsa began - if possible, on this day all household chores stopped, and a general celebration began with horse riding, various competitions, storming of snowy towns and cheerful feasts. The fun romp was designed to help people get rid of the negativity that had accumulated over the winter and improve relationships.
On Friday: invite your mother-in-law for pancakes
On Friday, “mother-in-law parties” were held - on this day the son-in-law treated the mother-in-law to “response pancakes”, which the mother-in-law’s daughter, his wife, had to bake. The mother-in-law came to visit with her friends and relatives, and the son-in-law had to show her every respect.
On Saturday: invite your sister-in-law (sister) to visit
On Saturday, “sister-in-law’s get-togethers” were held - the daughter-in-law invited her husband’s sister and his other relatives to visit her. If the husband's sister was unmarried, then the daughter-in-law's unmarried friends were supposed to be invited to visit, and if the sister-in-law had her own family, married relatives and friends were invited.
Sunday: burn the effigy and forgive everyone
The end of the week is Forgiveness Sunday,” was considered the culmination of Maslenitsa. All close people asked each other for forgiveness for all the insults they had caused, went to the bathhouse, and in the evening commemorated the deceased. Leftovers holiday dishes it was supposed to be burned and the dishes washed well. In the evening, a scarecrow of Maslenitsa was burned, in the flames of which all diseases, grievances and troubles were supposed to burn, and the ashes from the scarecrow scattered across the fields. Evening services were held in the churches, at which the rite of forgiveness was performed - the rector asks for forgiveness from other ministers and parishioners, and they, bowing and asking for forgiveness from each other, responded to everything with “God will forgive.”
At the end of the festivities, in order not to drag winter into spring, the last effigies were burned, bonfires were lit on snow and ice slides to melt the ice and destroy the cold. After the holiday, parents told their children: “The milk and butter were burned, all that was left was the radish tail and Lent.”
We owe it to pagan times. The holiday was originally associated with the day of the spring equinox, but with the adoption of Christianity it began to precede Lent and depend on its timing. The Christian Church actually added Maslenitsa to its calendar, calling it Cheese Week. This was done in order not to deprive people of an established holiday, but at the same time to eradicate its pagan essence. Therefore, Maslenitsa combines church and folk traditions.
Proto-Slavic Maslenitsa is associated with the cult of fertility. The rituals performed on this day were aimed at obtaining a good harvest. The funeral essence of Maslenitsa is also closely connected with fertility. Dead relatives, according to our ancestors, were simultaneously both in the afterlife and in the earth, which means they could influence its fertility. Therefore, on Maslenitsa, departed ancestors were cajoled in every possible way, including pancakes. Our ancestors considered them a funeral food.
Today, the sacred meaning of Maslenitsa has actually been lost. We perceive it primarily as a pancake holiday. However, until now, each of the seven days of Maslenitsa has its own name, which indicates what needs to be done.
Maslenitsa folk schedule
Monday - Maslenitsa meeting
On this day, they made a scarecrow from straw, put old women's clothes on it, put this scarecrow on a pole and, singing, carried it on a sleigh around the village. Then Maslenitsa was staged on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began.
Tuesday - flirt
On this day, brides' viewings took place. The girls invited young people to ride from the mountains and invited them over to eat pancakes.
Wednesday - gourmet, mother-in-law pancakes
On this day, mothers-in-law invited their beloved sons-in-law for pancakes.
Thursday - revelry, wide Thursday
Day of fist fights. The blood shed during such battles was perceived as a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead or to the gods themselves.
Friday - mother-in-law evenings
If on Wednesday sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law, then on Friday it was the other way around. At the same time, in the evening, the mother-in-law had to give her son-in-law all the necessary ingredients for making pancakes.
Saturday - sister-in-law's get-togethers
On this day, the young daughter-in-law invited her relatives to her place and treated them to guess what? That's right - pancakes.
Forgiveness Sunday
On the last day of Maslenitsa, it is customary to ask for forgiveness from all relatives and friends, to which they usually answered “God will forgive!”
Sayings for every day of Maslenitsa:
Monday: Maslenitsa is coming, damn it, it’s bringing honey!
Tuesday: Damn is not a sheaf - you can’t prick it with a pitchfork
Wednesday: They don't like pancakes and kisses!
Thursday: Have fun at Maslenaya and treat yourself to a pancake!
Friday: Shrovetide doesn’t last forever!
Saturday: Pancakes are like the sun!
Sunday: Not everything is Maslenitsa, there will be Lent too!