Pancake week (Maslenisa)
The tradition of Maslenitsa dates back to pagan times, when Russian folk would bid farewell to winter and welcome spring. This holiday combines pagan and Christian beliefs of the Russian people.
It lasts from Monday till Sunday. Maslenitsa is celebrated either at the end of February or at the beginning of March, a week before The Great Lent.
The name of the holiday, Maslenitsa (derived from maslo, which means butter or oil in Russian) owes its existence to the tradition of baking pancakes (or blini , in Russian). They are essential to the celebration of Maslenitsa. Hot, round, and golden pancakes embody the sun’s grace and might, helping to warm up the frozen earth. In old days pancakes were cooked from buckwheat flour, and it gave them a red color, making the significance even more evident.
During this holiday people are involved into many activities. Children and grown-ups assemble a Maslenitsa doll out of straw and old woman’s clothes. They place it on a pole and go dancing around it. The climax of the holiday week is burning the effigy, which takes place on Sunday, the Forgiveness Day. After it has turned to ashes, young people would walk over the fire, marking the end of the Maslenitsa festivities.
- Maslenitsa in Moscow, 2019
