2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
In our country there are a huge number of different holidays that were celebrated by our ancestors. This is exactly what Shrovetide is. In this article, we will plunge a little into history and talk about what they did in Russia on Maslenitsa and what traditions have survived to this day.
Origin of the holiday
First of all, it should be said that Maslenitsa is still a pagan holiday that was known to people before the adoption of Christianity in Russia. Then it was the Day of the Sun, when pancakes symbolized exactly this celestial body: yellow and round. It was the acceptance of spring, warmth, the return of the hot and gentle sun, which was supposed to revive all plants to life. With the adoption of Christianity, this holiday has not gone away. But it should be noted that in the church calendar there is no such day as Maslenitsa. But there is a certain transformed Cheese Week (or popularly - Cheese Sunday), which, however, is such a disguised folk Maslenitsa. However, the church tried to eradicate most of the pagan traditions of celebrating this day,leaving it mainly for rest and pleasant time of communion with God. People are trying to preserve those sacred customs and rituals that our great-grandmothers so honored.
Meaning of the holiday
The history of Maslenitsa in Russia is very interesting by its nature. So, this holiday always fell at the beginning of spring and coincided with the day of the vernal equinox. It was a kind of milestone, after which, according to the beliefs of the ancestors, all life on earth began to come to life and enter a new cycle of development. And all thanks to the sun, which on this day was mostly honored. It was also a kind of fertility cult, after which everything began to fill with fresh juices of new life. This holiday has always been especially important for the peasants. After all, it was they who were responsible for the harvest, which, however, made up the bulk of their income and was the key to a well-fed winter.
Sledding
It is also interesting what they did in Russia on Maslenitsa. The first custom is to ride and show off. The rich rode on horse-drawn sledges, showing off in front of the poor, people with low incomes loved to ride on sledges. Families that got married in the winter were supposed to leave on this day. So they kind of talked about their new status in a similar way, boasted to the residents, and on that day no one reproached them for it. The same applied to future newlyweds: on Maslenitsa, grooms boasted to all their brides, presenting them in all their glory to the public. In some regions of Russia, it was necessary to roll midwives on a sleigh - as a symbolfertility and new life.
Skiing down the mountain
In Russia, it was also customary to sled down from the mountains on Maslenitsa. And they did it all - from small to large. However, adults joined the children only from Wednesday, skating until the end of the week. As for newlyweds and betrothed couples, they had to go down the hill only once - that was the custom. The vehicles themselves were also interesting. So, rarely it was a single-seat sleigh, similar to modern ones. At that time, sleds were designed to be ridden by about 8-10 people at once. We also rode on blocks of ice cut in the river, on boards with a frozen bottom.
Deck
Another ancient name for Maslenitsa in Russia is Kolodiy. So, this week, a special deck was of particular importance, which lived its life in seven days. The women helped her. So, on Monday she was born, on Tuesday she was baptized, on Wednesday she lived her life, on Thursday she died, on Friday the deck was buried, and on Saturday she mourned. Sunday was the highlight day. So, women took this block and walked around the village with it, tying it to everyone who was not married or single. It is clear that people did not like it, and they had to pay off: pies, beads, ribbons, booze, sweets.
Women's Days
The people used to also have another name for the holiday - Babskaya week. And all because women were in charge at that time. So, in Russia on Maslenitsathey wooed brides and entered into marriages - this was considered an auspicious time to create a new family. Also characteristic were the “sister-in-law gatherings”, when young girls got together and complained to each other about their close women: mothers, sisters, mothers-in-law, etc. On Friday, the son-in-law had to invite his mother-in-law and other guests to visit while they are regaled, say: “Drink, dear guests, so that my beloved mother-in-law does not dry up in her throat.” This hinted that, in general, mothers of wives were very talkative and always tried to teach young people how to live better and right.
About food
What kind of Maslenitsa celebration in Russia did without a special dish - pancakes? So, at the suggestion of the Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasiev, most people today believe that this is a symbol of the Sun. However, in Ancient Russia it was also a funeral bread, which was baked to honor their dead ancestors. It was round, which meant the endlessness of being, warm - symbolizes earthly joy, made of flour, water and s alt, that is, alive. On the first Monday, a pancake was placed on the attic window so that the souls of the dead could feast on it. Or they gave pancakes to the poor to remember the dead. So it was said: “The first pancake is for peace.”
Fights
How else was Maslenitsa celebrated in Russia? Fist fights. Today it is a harmless game, when everyone joins the fight, even girls, and the fun itself is completely safe. But it was not always so. Previously, such contractions were serious, they usedall the strength of men, often they ended very badly. Why was it necessary? The fact is that people believed that, having shed blood in this way, they make a sacrifice to the spirits, which for some time after that simply will not disturb them.
Festivities
How was Maslenitsa celebrated in Russia? Of course it's fun! Various festivities, fun, round dances, spring songs were obligatory. Girls and boys danced and had fun. Also obligatory was the ritual of burning an effigy, the ashes from which were scattered over the fields and other fertile lands, which should have given an excellent harvest. In some areas, it was customary to undress "Voevoda" and "Maslenitsa" - the stewards of the holiday, who were supposed to imitate washing in a bathhouse. Now it is very difficult to understand the meaning of this action, but earlier people believed that everyone came into the world and left it naked, that is, clean, and such washing meant spiritual and bodily purity.
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