Maslenitsa is one of the most beloved and hearty folk holidays. It is associated with the beginning of spring and the abundance of ruddy pancakes on the table. Maslenitsa does not have a fixed date and is celebrated 7 weeks before Easter, falling on the second half of February or the first days of March. Celebrate this fun party for a whole week, but not all pancake lovers know the history of the origin of Maslenitsa festivities.
Pre-Christian carnival
Maslenitsa is an ancient pagan holiday that symbolizes the end of a cold winter and the beginning of a long-awaited spring. In Proto-Slavic times, it was celebrated during the spring equinox, when daylight fully took away its rights from the night.
Pancakes were baked these days for a reason - round and hot delicacies glorified the spring sun, which shone brighter and delighted with warm rays. Another version is that the circle symbolizes the inevitable cycle of events, in this case, the return of spring and new life.
There is also a version that pancakes were an attribute of funeral treats, it is known that the Slavs have always worshiped the souls of their ancestors with food. The first pancake on Maslenitsa was traditionally donated to the poor so that they would commemorate their deceased relatives.
The main Shrovetide rite of the pagans is the burning of an effigy. By setting fire to the straw Zimushka, the ancient people believed that the cold would recede faster, and spring would come in time and help grow a rich harvest. The scarecrow was made from straw and rags, dressed in women's sundresses, decorated and seated on a stake. The symbol of winter was carried through the whole village, and then they were joyfully burned at the stake, and the earth was consecrated with ashes. Sometimes, instead of burning it, they lowered it into an ice-hole or symbolically tore it into small pieces, sprinkling the fields with straw.
The main sacred meaning of the ancient Maslenitsa is to consecrate the earth, to ask the spirits of the dead and the gods for a good harvest in the coming year. For the pagans, nature itself was God, so they made sacrifices to it and tried in every possible way to appease the higher powers.
cheese week
With the advent of Christianity, Maslenitsa acquired another meaning - it became a harbinger of Lent and was called Cheese Week. In total, preparation for fasting lasts 22 days, during this period Christians must tune in to the right mood in order to voluntarily accept all restrictions and receive purification.
In the final week before fasting, it is forbidden to eat meat, but it is allowed to feast on fish, dairy products and eggs. On cheese days, you do not need to fast on Wednesday and Friday, but on these days only one evening meal is allowed. Divine services during Cheesefare Week are not festive, but on Wednesdays and Fridays they are similar to Great Lent. On Saturday, the memory of all the venerable fathers who took tonsure is honored, and on Sunday the first exiles from Paradise are remembered.
It is worth noting that the Church does not consider the ancient Maslenitsa as its holiday, it only timed its own events for the days of traditional folk festivals and gave them the right to exist in a new meaning. The Christian calendar has cheese week but there is no mention of Maslenitsa. The main goal of a church holiday, unlike a folk one, is to prepare the soul and body for Great Lent.
Shrovetide traditions
V modern world everything is mixed up, but people continue to love the merry folk holiday - Maslenitsa and celebrate it merrily, drawing customs from the ancient pre-Christian culture.
First day holiday week is called "Meeting", earlier on Monday they walked around the village with a scarecrow and built slides for skiing. Now they are limited to baking pancakes and treating them to the poor.
On the second day, called "Zagrysh", people go to visit, and those who come are treated to pancakes. Also on Tuesday it is customary to have fun, ride the slides and play outdoor games on the street.
Wednesday called "Gourmet". The main tradition of the third day is serving sons-in-law with pancakes. Mother-in-laws must heartily feed the husbands of their daughters, and in order to cheer them up during the meal, other relatives are also invited to the house.
Thursday widely known for fisticuffs and horse racing. In the old days, these fights were far from harmless, but now they are more playful and playful.
On Friday mother-in-laws are going to visit their sons-in-law for "Teschin's Evenings". On this day, mothers eat pancakes in the house of their daughters and praise their sons-in-law.
Saturday- a special day called "Zolovkina gatherings", young wives invited the older sisters of their spouses to visit them, gave them gifts and treated them to pancakes.
Sunday- the most important day of Maslenitsa, known as "Forgiveness Sunday". On this day, all believers and those who simply honor national holidays ask each other for forgiveness, receiving in response the traditional phrase: "God will forgive."
Here is such a variety, but everyone's favorite holiday is Maslenitsa! And there is hardly a person who considers it superfluous and unnecessary.
One often hears that Shrovetide is a pagan holiday, and that it is not good for Christians to take part in these celebrations. Is it so? There is no simple answer to this question, as to many questions related to the intersection of pre-Christian pagan culture and traditions with Christianity. The answer to this and other similar questions is complex, that is, consisting of several parts.
Indeed, in the paganism of the ancient Slavs there was a holiday of the spring equinox. This holiday consisted of a whole cycle of rituals related to the farewell to winter and the meeting of spring, and took two whole weeks - one before the spring solstice and one after. The main pagan deity of the pagan Shrovetide was the sun: the winter sun-child Kolyada grew and became the spring youth Yaril. By the way, it is with the worship of the sun that the tradition of baking hot, yellow-oily, round pancakes is connected.
With the advent of Christianity in Russia, the Church left this merry celebration, moving it to a week before the start of Great Lent. Should we see this as the inability of the Church to simply cancel the pagan holiday? Probably not. The paganism of the ancient Slavs was not at all an idealized worship of good Nature, as some want to present it, but a cruel belief in angry gods with terrible rituals, including human sacrifices (although more often, of course, wine, food and animals were sacrificed).
Christianity successfully fought against the most inhuman manifestations of paganism: no one slaughters children in front of the statue of Perun and throws them alive on the sacrificial fire. But not everything pre-Christian is inhuman and incompatible with the commandments of the Gospel. It is only the communists who want to build their world, first destroying everything old to the ground. The result of such a “perestroika” is known: who was nothing, he became nobody. Christ did not come to destroy the pre-Christian world, but to save it, heal it, raise it from its fallen state and elevate it. Perhaps that is why the Church sanctifies and blesses rather than forbids and destroys.
Of course, those who today celebrate the pagan rituals of the vernal equinox and worship the sun are indeed pagans. But can Christians be considered pagans, whom the Church blesses for simple human fun before the start of Great Lent? Let's look at the example of Christ Himself. He mourned and fasted at times, but at times he ate and drank; He went into seclusion for prayer, but then he was at a party and at dinner parties; finally, He did not have a wife and children, but He blessed the marriage, turning, by the way, water into wine, and not vice versa.
Zealots not according to reason, who see only anti-Christian in everything pre-Christian, should take off their wedding rings; after all, betrothal is a pre-Christian custom, although the Church blesses and sanctifies this custom. Yes, and marriage in general, of course, existed in pre-Christian times. People who see the “hydra of paganism” raising its head during the festivities of the oil week most likely do not understand either the essence of paganism or the essence of Christianity. Paganism is not in pancakes, and Christianity is not in avoiding pancakes. Christians are not ghosts to whom human joys are alien. The attitude to the natural world, as to something originally evil, is the heresy of Gnosticism, which the theologians of the first centuries of Christianity struggled with. Christ came not only to save the spirit, not a ghost, but to heal the soul, and the body, and the whole person.
The Church teaches us not to break the world and time, but to sanctify them. Everything should be holy: childbirth, and death, and work, and rest, and wedding fun, and a church holiday, and Shrovetide, and great post. Of course, overeating, revelry, drunkenness and other sins are not excusable either on oil week or on any other day. But this is not paganism, but demonism. On the contrary, a bright holiday - with prayer and thanksgiving to God for His gifts, with fun and songs, with the awareness of the approach of Great Lent and preparation for it - is a blessed time. By the way, traditionally in Russia, the first pancakes on Monday of the butter week were given to the hungry and the poor.
What about Halloween then? Is this also a "blessed time" and not a pagan holiday? Well, if a person on October 31 puts on an image mask, wanders the streets from door to door and collects "taxes", then he really takes part in a pagan ritual depicting the belief that on this day the spirits of darkness and the spirits of dead people penetrate our world and demand a sacrifice for themselves, which should be left at the threshold so that these spirits do not enter the house. But if a person goes to Mass on October 31, then he does not celebrate Holluin Day, but the Catholic Day of All Saints. If a person sits down at the festive table that evening, then he does not take part in pagan rituals, but simply has dinner.
Everything must be approached with reason, not fanaticism. Without reasoning, Christmas can be declared a celebration of Osiris, and Easter - some kind of pagan fertility ritual, and the family - the cult of the family, and memorial services - the cult of ancestors.
Let us be wise as serpents and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16), let us not be afraid of fear " where not fear"(Ps. 13:5), but let us think more about the fulfillment of Christ's commandments in joy and sorrow, on the days of Shrovetide and Great Lent, in the temple of God and at home everywhere, and we will always sanctify our whole life, and not offer it to God in pieces : ten minutes a day and two hours a week.
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Probably each of us longingly awaits a wonderful folk holiday called Maslenitsa. Every self-respecting housewife strives to bake as many pancakes as possible, stuff them with cheese, honey, cottage cheese, sour cream, cabbage, mushrooms, etc. Here the flight of fancy is unlimited. In addition, women fuss around the stove to cook a lot of amazing dishes and decorate the table with stewed vegetables, fish, sweets, pies, pie, baked pike, caviar, pickles. Moreover, with the onset last days In winter, the mood of the majority rises, there is a desire to have fun, get out of the "shackles" of the cold and take walks, chat with friends face to face.
Modern people with great pleasure continue to observe the rituals and traditions of Maslenitsa, perform incredible deeds - climb a wooden pole, jump over a fire, arrange loud festivities. Why this happens, what joyful days and fuss in the kitchen are dedicated to. Let's find out about everything in order, and in addition we will save a couple of other great recipes pancakes, preserved from our ancestors.
History of Maslenitsa
Great artists and writers dedicated their creations to this holiday, the best directors made films about it. Let us recall at least the amazing picture of Kustodiev “Pancake week”. How beautiful she is. You just want to be in the world that the artist has reflected and enjoy the true Russian winter, incredible dishes made exactly according to Russian traditions. But before delving into our fantasies, let's study the history of the many-sided and ours, only the Russian holiday of Maslenitsa.
It should be noted right away that Orthodox religion, the celebrations we describe have nothing to do with it. This holiday was bestowed by us by our ancestors, who worshiped pagan gods. Perhaps this is one of the few manifestations of paganism that survived with the transition to Orthodoxy. In order to avoid any disagreements, our Church included the holiday in its list, but called the period of celebrations Cheese Week (Meat Week). This period of time passes just before the start of the next Great Lent.
When did Maslenitsa arise?
There are several versions of the occurrence of special celebrations. Judging by one of the interpretations, this week it was no longer possible to eat meat dishes, but it was still allowed to consume dairy products. Among the people, the celebrations that lasted for seven days were called differently: Kasatochka, Tselovalnitsa, Obyedukha, Merry, Perebukha, Honest Maslenitsa, Sugar Lips, etc.
During the celebrations, incredible traditions were performed - they rode horses, which they tried to decorate with the most expensive and beautiful harness. Sleighs rushed through the streets, and in front of them was the very “Troika Bird”, which great artists immediately undertook to personify on their canvases. The youth reveled, sang songs, merry-go-rounds were launched. Fairs, amazing in terms of the richness of the assortment, were held on the squares, where it was possible to purchase goods at a bargain price. On the slides that still retained snow and ice, people descended on large sledges decorated with beautiful ornaments. "Snow" battles were arranged, fortresses and cities were built from snow and ice.
How was Maslenitsa
In the 17th-19th centuries, a crowd of not only adults, but also children gathered in the center of the square. These seven days were supposed to be the most generous of the year. The children were handed out sweets, pies, toys. And in the center of the squares, stages were set up on which performances took place. The main characters were mummers - Maslenitsa and her companion Voevoda. Of course, the plot for the comedy was the days of Maslenitsa, its treats. She said goodbye and promised to return next year. Other performances could also take place on the stage, which reflected the works of great creators, stories based on real events.
Despite the past centuries, the celebrations on Maslenitsa week did not stop. And the main message remained - the desire to drive away Winter. In order for warm days to come faster, they sang Magnificent songs, turned to the god Yarila and asked him to manifest himself as a solar disk and its rays. The symbol of the festive celebrations was a large straw effigy, on which a woman's sundress was put on. On the last day of the festivities, they burned him or “buried” him by putting a large pancake in his hand.
Why damn it
Many are interested in the question - why exactly pancake is a symbol of Maslenitsa. After all, they are baked during this week by all the housewives, and in incredible quantities. We have already mentioned the fillings, they are also great amount. Fortunately, the Russian land is rich in gifts, and people have always been distinguished by high diligence and had everything necessary for excellent nutrition in their farmstead. But back to pancakes and the history of their rise.
The tradition of baking them has appeared since ancient times, namely from the era of paganism. Worshiping those gods, people turned to the main of the pantheon - Yarila. And he was nothing more than the Sun, which warms the earth with its rays and gives life to all living things. With its bright arrival, winter gave way to spring and arable land started, bread was sown, people took off their heavy sheepskin coats and rejoiced in the warm air. And what is so similar in shape to our warm sun? And what can you taste while enjoying its taste? Damn of course. Thin bread, in which there is nothing but flour, eggs and milk, was prepared both in rich houses and in poor huts. Thus, the hostesses tried to embody the image of Yaril with their own hands and treated their creation to children, friends, relatives. In addition to wheat, buckwheat, corn, oatmeal were used for manufacturing.
Representatives of the poor class, having no stocks of meat and milk, and derivative products, invested semolina, pumpkin, pea porridge etc.
Customs for Maslenitsa
For a long time there were customs that were mandatory performed in every home. For example, the first loaf made had to be given to a poor person so that he would commemorate the deceased from this house. If there was no beggar nearby, asking for alms, they threw the product through the window. And while Maslenitsa week lasted, soft bread was eaten throughout the day and week, changing fillings and dressings. Each new day of the solemn week had a certain meaning, and rituals were performed that were intended specifically for this day.
Before the onset of Maslenitsa on Sunday, it was necessary to go on a visit to relatives, dear friends and close neighbors. It was also necessary to invite guests to your place and lay a rich table. This was the last “free” day before the strictest fast, when natural meat was consumed. It was called "Meat Sunday". There was even a funny belief - the father-in-law goes to the son-in-law to finish the meat.
Monday - Meeting
The day of the meeting of the holiday is called "Meeting". In the daytime, all people gathered for festivities. Large snow hills, fortresses, cities of ice and snow were built. People rode on carousels, huge tables were laid on the market squares, samovars were boiled, herbal teas were poured, honey, cream, etc. were poured. The kids together made a straw doll and put on a sundress, a kokoshnik. From the very morning, the children walked around the yards and sang songs, and they, in turn, were treated to pancakes and sweets. This went on until the middle of the day, then everyone ran to the snowy mounds and rode on makeshift sledges. Adults were an exception, they had the right to such pleasures only from the middle of Shrovetide week.
Tuesday - Play
This day was for the couple. It was on Tuesday that weddings were held in the villages, and after a rich feast, all the newlyweds and those who had just joined went for a ride from the hills. Naturally, they continued to bake bread and feast on the people. Also on the day of the game, young people looked at the opposite half and picked up a mate for themselves.
Wednesday - Lakomka
This day can truly be considered the moment of the “Great” truce, the mother-in-law specially “invited” her son-in-law to a pancake meal. No wonder there is a saying "To the mother-in-law for pancakes." The youth should put on the outfits they wore on the day own wedding, and unmarried girls rode down the hills. And over the single guys, who could not find a couple last year, everyone made fun of and made fun of. They came up with all sorts of punishments, and the guys had to pay off.
Thursday - Walk around
It was also called Fracture, Rampant, Chetvertok, Wide. This is the central event. All honest people gathered in the squares, staged performances, fistfights, all the swings and roundabouts were spinning, snowy fortresses and cities were taken under siege. Remember the masterpiece of art "The Capture of the Snowy Mountain" by Surikov. From clothes they put on whatever came to mind. And a scarecrow made of straw - Maslenitsa was raised to the highest hill.
Friday - Mother-in-law Vecherki
On this day, the opposite happens. It is the son-in-law's turn to treat his beloved mother-in-law with pancakes. He invites a relative to the house and at the same time lays a rich table. But the mother-in-law gave food and equipment for making pancakes: a frying pan, a tub, flour - a whole bag, butter. Thus, due respect was given to relatives by the wife. And the festivities continue, people triumph in the markets, drink tea and ride on carousels.
Saturday - Seeing off (Zolovkin gatherings)
This is one of the most beautiful traditions - a young daughter-in-law invited relatives to her new home and treated them not only to pancakes, but also to other dishes. And people picked up a Scarecrow made of straw - Shrovetide and carried it through the streets of the village and “buried it: they collected a lot of logs, set the Scarecrow upstairs and set it on fire. Round dances were arranged around a large fire, songs were sung. Despite the playfulness of the performance, many people cried - after all, another year was leaving, the holidays were ending, and it was necessary to start worries.
Sunday - Forgiveness
On the eve of Lent, everyone wanted to be cleansed of sins. People asked each other for forgiveness and said the following words: "Forgive me, please, if I am guilty of something before you." In response, the usual for all of us, “God will forgive,” sounded. The ritual did not have a formal meaning, indeed people forgave each other insults, insults, forgot about troubles and shook hands. Also on this day, it was necessary to visit the cemetery and “treat” the dead with pancakes, leaving them on the graves.
Divination was very popular these days. And, as a rule, the fair half is more interested in this activity. So, the girls performed the following rituals:
- Picking up the first pancake, the girl went to the street and treated the first guy who met on her way. His name meant that that would be the name of her betrothed.
- Before going to bed, the girl had to hang a towel outside the window and whisper the words: “Betrothed, come, wipe yourself with a towel!” The next morning she checked - if the towel turned out to be wet - then this year a marriage was coming. Dry - on the contrary, you should not expect a betrothed.
- For the third rite, you need to collect branches coniferous trees(pine, cedar, spruce, fir). It is better to collect in the forest and spread out at home on the floor. Invite a friend, tie scarves over each other's eyes and choose branches at random:
- if a girl picks up a thick branch with dense foliage (needles), she is waiting for a marriage with a strong and respectable man.
- a flat and smooth surface portends an attractive spouse.
- if there is a thick and strong bark on the branch, the husband will be a wealthy person.
- if the whole bark is peeled off, then a simple guy will become a spouse, perhaps a small employee, a locksmith, a carpenter.
Whether it is worth believing fortune-telling - decide for yourself. But it is unlikely that a towel or a spruce branch can predict your future. In any case, the rituals were invented by people and they are needed only as entertainment. And you need to believe only in the positive, no prediction should leave a residue of uncertainty in the soul.
On Forgiveness Sunday, it was possible to drink alcoholic beverages for the last time before Lent.
The best pancake recipes
So, before we start baking pancakes, let's find out one more story about Maslenitsa. The legend originates from the northern regions of Russia, where winters have always been rich in snow and blizzards. So, according to this story, Her Majesty Maslenitsa appeared in the North, where Santa Claus ruled. One peasant was looking for needles and saw a little girl, Shrovetide, behind the trees and asked to return warm days and joy to people. And she agreed and appeared before people not in the form of a little girl, but a strong, beautiful and ruddy beauty. With her infectious laughter, she drew the people into festivities, arranged round dances and sang songs.
To make it pleasant for you to spend these days before Lent, we offer several best recipes pancakes. Believe me, if you follow the recipe, then not a single pancake will turn out to be lumpy.
On milk
This is the most popular type of pancakes, which will not take much time from the hostess. For cooking we need:
- half a liter of milk;
- 2 testicles;
- 200 grams of flour;
- 2 table. tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- 1 table. a spoonful of granulated sugar;
- a pinch of salt
The ingredients must be taken out of the refrigerator in advance so that they reach room temperature. In a bowl, beat eggs, add sugar, salt, pour in milk and mix thoroughly.
Mix the flour with a small portion of milk until the state of sour cream, mix until the lumps disappear.
Pour into the main composition and beat briefly. Pour vegetable oil, mix and set aside for half an hour at room temperature.
On kefir
The option is economical for zealous housewives. You can also use curdled milk. For cooking we need:
- half a liter of sour milk or kefir;
- 2 testicles;
- 200 grams of flour (wheat);
- drinking soda (half a teaspoon), the same amount of salt and sugar;
- 4 tablespoons (tablespoons) vegetable oil.
Beat eggs, pour in kefir and mix thoroughly. The mixture must be heated to 60 degrees, so that after adding the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Gently fold the sifted flour into the composition and mix so that there are no lumps. Dissolve soda in a tablespoon of boiling water and pour into a bowl of dough, then pour in the oil, mix and set aside for one hour.
On the water
This is perhaps the most popular pancake recipe. It does not contain milk, which is not suitable for everyone in terms of physical indicators, kefir, which can cause bloating. In such a test, there are fewer calories, which means that there are chances to keep the figure during the Maslenitsa period. So, we need:
- half a liter of water;
- 320 grams of flour (wheat);
- 2 testicles;
- 2 table. tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- a tablespoon of granulated sugar;
- a pinch of salt.
Beat eggs, salt and sugar in a bowl, pour in water (warm) and gradually introduce the sifted flour. Beat until smooth.
We recognize the character by fillings
Of course, eating just pancakes is also a pleasure. But how much more nutritious and satisfying are pancakes with mushroom, cottage cheese, cabbage, sour cream filling. There is a belief among the people - the filling should correspond to the male character. Let's find out how true this is.
- Just pancakes smeared with butter. Such a product is preferred by restrained and calm individuals. They strive to be and communicate only with decent people. Men with such taste tend to be good fathers and loving husbands guarding the reputation and welfare of the family.
- Caviar is preferred by creative, smart people. They are pragmatic, caring, the affairs of the family and its well-being come first. They are not capable of romantic deeds, if they decide to do something pleasant, they will rather take practical steps.
- With sour cream, tender and sensitive types regale themselves. Such men are very vulnerable, touchy. Even a carelessly thrown word can lead to hysteria and mood damage. So be careful and decide whether it is worth linking your fate with him.
- Emotional and romantic men love with honey. This type will be able to create a holiday even from a banal meeting and will delight his soul mate pleasant surprises with or without. These men are monogamous and can give their last penny for a bouquet, if only their beloved is happy.
- With salmon people prefer pancakes with an extreme orientation. These are travelers, skydiving enthusiasts, etc. So life with such a friend is hectic, every now and then he will present another surprise in the form of hiking on the highest mountain, or hang-gliding.
- Cottage cheese stuffing is loved by men who will remain children until the end of their days. They love everything sweet, and the wife will be a mommy. Get ready - making decisions, paying bills, sorting out relationships will fall on your fragile shoulders.
How to bake pancakes
And now let's move on to the process, which some housewives are concerned about. It is because of the moment of baking that women are ready to refuse to cook such a tasty and light dish as pancakes. And it all consists in only one thing - they stick to the pan, become a lump. To get around all this, we suggest acting according to a proven plan.
- The pan must be put on fire and heated well.
- Lubricate with vegetable oil (thin layer, 1-2 drops and a brush are enough).
- Reduce fire intensity by half.
- Mix the settled dough, as sediment always forms at the bottom.
- Take a small portion with a ladle (it is better to use a special one for pancakes).
- In a frying pan, which must be held in an inclined position, pour the dough and twist so that it completely covers the surface.
- Bake for a maximum of 2-3 minutes, turn over with a spatula. After a couple of minutes, transfer to prepared dishes.
- Lubricate the pancake with butter or cover with a large lid so that the edges become soft and do not break.
The Maslenitsa holiday, beautiful in its course, is not only festivities and celebrations. People thus wanted to get closer to the secrets of the universe, to open the curtains of death. According to another version, the shape of the pancake does not reflect the Sun, but life, that is, existence without beginning or end. These days, people understood that the earth should increase its wealth and in their songs they sang the melting of snow, which nourishes the soil with fertility.
Another sacred basis of the holiday is the remembrance of the dead. The funeral feast included three components - lamentation for the departed, the offering of a sacrifice and a rich feast. It was believed that the dead came to each of the celebrations of people and invisibly took part in them.
Be that as it may, Maslenitsa is a beloved and unlike anything in the world holiday of the Slavs. Let it be the remnants of pagan times or Cheese Week according to the Orthodox religion. The main thing is that it is tasty, fun and very useful, of course, if you know the measure!
Now there are oil festivals all over the place.
On the one hand, this is a holiday of the coming spring, good time to go on a visit, meet friends and family, have fun ... True, this holiday sometimes leads to gastronomic excesses, often acquires elements of pagan revelry, and gives someone a reason to just get drunk.
On the other hand, Maslenitsa is a preparatory week for , and already the half-fast days themselves, when meat products are excluded from the diet, when Wednesday and Friday are not performed Divine Liturgy and a penitential prayer is read Rev. Ephrem the Syrian .
We asked the shepherds to express their opinion about Shrovetide, to answer the question: how should one relate to this paradox, to this antinomy of the holiday and the purpose of fasting? How should a Christian spend these days?
- For me, Maslenitsa has always been perceived as a long-awaited and very joyful time. And the fact that people meet these days, arrange feasts - I don’t see any particular misfortune and sin in this.
A feast, pancakes - this is also not without reason! The meaning of Shrovetide, of course, is not in rampant festivities and outrages. This is obvious, and for a Christian it requires neither explanation nor boring reproofs. The special meaning of Shrovetide in quite recent times, when there were no telephones or e-mail, was that people during the week preceding Forgiveness Sunday and Great Lent had time to go and go to their close and distant friends and relatives, to ask each other's forgiveness. And having reconciled, having asked for forgiveness, how not to sit down at a feast? After all, quite recently everyone heard in the temple the gospel reading about Zacchaeus, who, having repented, wholeheartedly arranged a treat for the Savior and for his friends. Or a parable about the prodigal son, about the happiness of reconciliation and forgiveness: “... bring a fattened calf and kill it; Let's eat and be merry! for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to rejoice” (Luke 15:23). Only instead of a calf we have pancakes at the meat-fare week.
All this is so vivid, understandable to any person, so natural that, frankly speaking, it is always a little surprising to see excessive moralizing about Shrovetide in our days. I am sure that for the majority of Orthodox Christians, this whole coming week, which will include services for the Lenten rite on Wednesday and Friday, and friendly communication, and forgiveness of offenses, and hospitable feasts, will all manifest a special, unique and joyful holiday of anticipation. preparing for Great Lent.
Rector of the Church of St. John the Theologian - Patriarchal Metochion in Kitai-Gorod):
- The church celebration of Shrovetide has a colossal missionary and educational potential.
80 years of militant materialism in our country hit at the same time both Orthodox spirituality and folk culture, for all the conventionality of this division. And if in pre-revolutionary times we really observed how individual church holidays in everyday life were intertwined with sometimes wild folk traditions that had a connection with the pagan past of the Slavic tribes, now there is no need to talk about this. Of course, it is bad that our compatriots have practically erased their historical memory, their tradition has been completely lost. But this is precisely what allows us today to church the folk traditions and customs reconstructed practically from scratch, using the huge cultural potential of Orthodoxy.
Shrovetide is a wonderful week. Each Christian must decide for himself to what extent he can participate in Shrovetide amusements, how relevant they are in this moment for his spiritual life. Communication with relatives and friends festive table will not hurt anyone: there is an opportunity to meet, try to understand the other, reconcile with someone in order to enter the fast with a pure soul and a clear conscience. Shrovetide provides parents with a wonderful opportunity to give children the joy of the holiday. A holiday on the street is generally a great opportunity to leave your apartments, finally get to know your neighbors, feel like a member of a large human family.
I am convinced that now we, the priests, must do everything to ensure that the temple, the cathedral square, becomes the center of the celebration of Shrove Tuesday. This is already happening in many cities today. A few years ago, I was struck by the experience of the Birobidzhan diocese, which led the preparation and holding of Maslenitsa in the cathedral city and coped with this role brilliantly. Today, by and large, except for the Church, there is no one to organize a national holiday so that it does not turn out to be vulgar, not primitive.
If we do not do this, if the Church, represented by the clergy and active laity, does not begin to deal with the subject of folk customs and traditions, then some neo-pagans or other idle preachers will do it. We live in an era of incredible opportunities and great responsibility. Today we can make the celebration of Shrove Tuesday truly Christian or, conversely, completely lose the opportunity to do so.
– It is necessary to look at Shrovetide from a broader perspective – and then everything falls into place.
Yes, of course, a colossal amount of all sorts of abuses, stupidities, outright madness, impiety and unbelief ... But are these the specific features of Shrovetide? No, these are just properties of the current near-church, pseudo-church, superstitious and meaningless life (however, not only the current one!). The properties are very poor. But a breeze of optimism brings hope: the more often people hear about Shrovetide and related subjects, the more and more likely they will pay attention to the future. Having paid attention, they will think. Thinking - understand or feel something. And get down to business...
– Unfortunately, with all the abundance of civil and church “red days of the calendar”, we often do not know how to celebrate or have fun. This is an art worth learning. But, for example, a person who does not fast will never understand and appreciate such events as breaking the fast, not only in a gastronomic sense, but in general as a state of mind. After all, it is fasting that gives the holidays associated with it a special price and a unique flavor ...
One well-known Moscow priest once said that so many pancakes should be eaten for Shrovetide, so that later the very sight of a pancake would cause disgust. This is probably something like "mortification of the flesh", about which much has been written in ascetic literature.
But after all, this is also a good reason to visit relatives or friends with whom, in the hustle and bustle of ordinary life, it is not possible to sit and talk calmly. This is the last warm-up before the Lenten marathon. An opportunity to gather your thoughts, strength, spirit.
“Pokurguzka, lyuli, pokurguzka” - this is how folk songs mourn the brevity of Shrovetide days, after which “it will become loud”, that is, sad. However, it’s actually great that “not everything is a carnival for a cat.” Because “there is a time for every thing under the sun… a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Eccl. 3:1-4).
Actually, this is not a paradox. The fact is that for a Christian, liturgical life is the main element of preparation for Great Lent. Accordingly, an Orthodox Christian, of course, must attend divine services on these days. Moreover, they are of a special nature. At the same time, before Great Lent, a Christian is given relief with regard to food, that is, consolation at a meal. At the same time, Maslenitsa is not a reason to overeat to the limit, so that you don’t want to until Easter later. So it still won't work. The charter of the meal for Shrovetide is a consolation for those who pray, attend divine services and seriously prepare for Great Lent.
Burning an effigy of Shrovetide, climbing a pole are purely pagan remnants. It is better for an Orthodox person not to go to these festivities. They have nothing to do with Christianity.
Another question is that not everyone is able to immediately take and switch completely to the Christian way of life. And if such a person is going to fast during Great Lent, that is, it is more serious to pay attention to his soul, then, of course, you can show indulgence to him and not scold him for celebrating Shrovetide.
Again, the celebration should be reasonable: not in drunkenness, not in overeating, but in some fairly harmless entertainment and entertainment, because all this will be generally unacceptable during Lent. I think that as each Christian grows spiritually, he will gradually give up such purely worldly, secular amusements at Shrove Tuesday and more and more understand the spiritual meaning of this preparatory week. Still, Cheese Week (Shrovetide) takes place between the weeks (Sundays) of the Last Judgment and the remembrance of Adam's exile. That is, the two Sundays framing Shrove Tuesday tell us about quite serious events in the history of mankind, which are not particularly conducive to fun.
Here it is impossible to approach each person with one measure, but the vector of movement must be clear. It is necessary to strive to ensure that amusements occupy less and less attention of a person, and divine services and a serious attitude to prayer, to fasting - more and more.
On Cheese Week, of course, you can hold cultural events, creative evenings of Orthodox content, if we are talking about getting away from gross entertainment and entertainment and gradually coming to the spiritual through the spiritual.
Maslenitsa, or Cheese Week, is the last week before Lent. Preparing for it, Christians no longer eat meat food at Shrovetide, but they eat dairy food (including on Wednesday and Friday).
Many find it difficult to combine the merry hospitable feasts of Shrovetide with the thought of the Last Judgment of the Lord that permeates the church services of these days. Others see in the Russian tradition of baking pancakes almost the rudiments of pagan self-consciousness. We hasten to dispel this imaginary contradiction. The fact is that it is necessary to prepare for a meeting with the Humanity Christ by doing six works of gospel mercy: the thirsty to drink, the hungry to feed, the stranger to enter the house, the naked to clothe, visit the sick and visit the languishing in prison.
Maslenitsa with its Russian hospitality gives us the opportunity to work in active mercy. A common meal tends to soften and reconcile hearts. But it is no coincidence that the last Sunday before Lent is called forgiveness! Let us prepare for it, mutually forgiving and comforting all near and far to the glory of God!
– Despite the fact that in our time Shrovetide is already more of an ethnography, a folk tradition that has no pagan ritual significance, nevertheless, it has nothing to do with Christianity.
It is necessary to spend the Maslenitsa (or, rather, the Cheese or Meat-Feast) week in the dynamics of the mood for repentance, and this dynamics is just given by the church charter. The Church is already preparing us ahead of time for Great Lent with the gospel parables of the publican and the Pharisee, the prodigal son, and, finally, a reminder of the Last Judgment. And although in the week about the publican and the Pharisee we still eat a quick meal, the Church already reminds us that we need to tune in to such a prayer as the publican, so that it is accepted by God. In this sense, Shrovetide does not exclude moderate fun, and at the same time it is already illuminated by the approach of Great Lent. During this period, the Orthodox can, for example, hold a literary and musical evening: read verses of Christian content, listen to spiritual chants with an attitude of repentance (for example, a ballad about Kudeyar - about twelve thieves). This kind of entertainment before Lent is quite appropriate.
The attitude of non-church people to this holiday is well known: “Soon the resounding Shrove Tuesday will boil a merry feast…”. However, it is unacceptable for believers on Shrovetide to participate in general revelry, overeating and drunkenness. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk said: “Shame covers my face when I talk about how Orthodox Christians celebrate Shrovetide.”
In this week, the last before Great Lent, it would be good to remember the advice of St. Sergius of Radonezh: "Hold your abstinence." The beginning of fasting is unthinkable without bodily preparation, which offers us Orthodox Church. Monday of the 1st week of Great Lent is called Pure Monday: a pure conscience, a pure soul - because it was Forgiveness Sunday. It is also necessary to be clean and in bodily composition, if a person is God's, therefore there must be abstinence. According to the Holy Fathers, Great Lent is the spring of the spirit, because when we limit ourselves bodily, our spirit blossoms. Whoever has tasted this joy of Great Lent already cherishes these days and is waiting for them. Only an intemperate soul, a person who pleases his flesh, perceives fasting as something painful. When a person adheres to the church charter, imbues himself with the spirit of worship, prepares himself for entry into the Fortecost, then those restrictions that are associated with the Lenten period are perceived by him organically.
The Church in relation to her children has a maternal character. This is both tenderness and rigor of pedagogy to bring us to Christ. The Church always gives us gradualness in everything. At the time when the gradual introduction into penitential images with church services is already beginning (“Open the doors of repentance to me ...”, the prayer of St. Great post.
There are people who have the habit of fasting: it is easy for them, they enter Great Lent with joy. And there are those who are just beginning to become churched: it is difficult for them, and the Church leads them very kindly and tenderly. As St. Seraphim of Sarov said, “a person cannot enter into a feat until he purifies his feelings,” therefore, we cannot perceive Great Lent as only restrictions, prohibitions. This, on the one hand, is asceticism, which limits our physicality, and, on the other hand, the special nature of worship, which elevates the soul. And one complements the other.
This is how a loving mother acts in relation to her child: she caresses and scolds, gives some kind of task that is already visible and makes sure that the child obeys. The Church is leading us the same way. I think that the antinomy that exists and is vividly expressed on Shrovetide days is explained by this character.
– The history of the celebration of Maslenitsa in the life of the Russian people has been going on for several centuries. Speaking of Shrovetide (more precisely, Cheese Week), we must remember that initially there were two fundamentally different traditions of celebrating this special time of the year, which can be conditionally designated as follows: “purely ecclesiastical” and “purely secular”.
Those who followed church tradition perceived the last week before Lent as the most important step in preparing for it. The believers understood: if these days were spent in excessive pleasures and amusements, Great Lent would be disrupted for them. In the bosom of the Holy Church, a liturgical practice of preparing for Cheese Week in prayer and repentance has developed.
We remember from national history, that Lenten days left an imprint on the way of life of all citizens of the Russian state, including those people who did not have a deep religious feeling and did not even belong to Orthodoxy at all. Therefore, the secular tradition saw in Shrovetide those days when it was possible to let out the “last pairs”, to have plenty of fun before the onset of Great Lent. It was this tradition that formed the basis of the Maslenitsa festivities in pre-revolutionary Russia, with their fisticuffs (where they could kill for fun), drunkenness, gluttony and debauchery. The church and state authorities tried to resist the riotous component of the pre-Lenten days, but this was not always possible. With the impoverishment of faith in the Russian people, Maslenitsa festivities acquired an increasingly immoral character, and elements of paganism began to appear more and more clearly in them. If a person does not need Great Lent, then in Shrovetide he will seek consolation only for the flesh.
It is worth noting that for every Christian, Shrove Tuesday is a time when you should settle your worldly affairs, hold the necessary secular meetings in order to devote the days of Great Lent exclusively to caring for the healing of your soul. I repeat, it is wiser to solve your worldly problems before the start of Lent than to address them in its very first and important days. However, I am sure that a true Orthodox Christian will find spiritual strength and wisdom in himself so as not to be carried away by excessively worldly concerns and not deprive himself of the time of Great Lent, which is invaluable for spiritual growth.
- For many pagan peoples, the transition from winter to spring was accompanied by certain religious rituals and celebrations. So it was in Russia. The transition from hibernation to the spring revival was marked by a holiday called komoeditsa or Shrovetide.
The Church did not always completely abolish folk pagan traditions and holidays, realizing that simple prohibitive measures were ineffective, but often replaced pagan holidays with Christian ones and, as it were, churched folk customs, giving them a completely different meaning. So it was with the radonitsa, and with the custom of caroling, and with the same Maslenitsa. The Church timed Shrovetide for the Cheese Preparatory Week before Great Lent, removing the pagan meaning and replacing it with a new Christian content.
For the Orthodox, Cheese Week, Maslenitsa is a week of smooth transition to fasting. And even the meal, already devoid of meat food, reminds us of this. It is dedicated to the memory of the Last Judgment. On Tuesday of this week, at the evening service in churches, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is already being read, “Lord and Master of my life…”, and, of course, revelry and drunken fun are absolutely incompatible with the meaning that the Church puts into this preparatory week. Of course, we do not deny reasonable, moderate fun at Shrovetide. We go to visit each other, eat pancakes and save up strength before Lent.
But, unfortunately, we have to observe that not everyone observes the measure, and many spend the Cheese Week in a completely pagan way. I am not talking about those people who do not fast - for them there is no concept of preparation for fasting. They can burn an effigy of Shrovetide, and then go to the Easter procession with the same interest. Both, in their opinion, are good. No, I mean Orthodox church people who sometimes do not think about the fact that wild fun, gluttony and drunkenness are unacceptable on Shrove Week (all these “bad excesses” are unacceptable, however, on any other days of the year). Unfortunately, this formula is very characteristic of us: either everything or nothing. And, by the way, not only in modern dechurched Russia, but it was like that before the revolution. Not everyone knew the measure and kept in the Shrovetide spree. As Dostoevsky said, "The Russian is wide, I would narrow it down." One can also recall another character of Fyodor Mikhailovich - Mitya Karamazov, about whom it was said that he could contemplate, as it were, two abysses: vice and virtue.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk said: “Whoever spends Maslenitsa in atrocities, he becomes a clear disobedient to the Church and shows himself unworthy of the very name of a Christian.”
Fasting is a school of temperance and moderation in everything. During the time of Fortecost and other fasts, we must learn to subordinate the aspirations of our flesh to the spirit, control our desires and desires, so that, having mastered this science, observe a reasonable measure and abstinence from sin and in Everyday life. And if, after fasting, we give ourselves complete freedom, let go of the reins - break the fast without measure, and then also immoderately talk before a new fast, then we have not learned anything during fasting.
I remember one of my acquaintances who fasted very diligently, ate almost nothing during the first and Holy Weeks of Great Lent, but then after Easter he could go on a binge. And again it turns out that we are not the masters of our instincts and aspirations, but they subordinate us to themselves.
God grant that the coming fast teaches us at least a little abstinence and serves the benefit of the spiritual and bodily.
“Man is a fallen being. If he wants to invade, to break into the spiritual world, then these “souls of wonderful impulses” will lead at first not to pure spirituality, but to the world of substitutions and shifters, to counterfeits for holiness, to the world of tinted lies.
This thought runs like a red thread through all the works of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov). He bequeathed it, as one of the real treasures, to the coming centuries with their multiplying poverty and multiplying illusions.
Paganism never died "until the end." In a world where flesh and spirit oppose each other, where the flesh has not yet been transformed, it is warm and comfortable for paganism to hide in that part of life where the flesh is the undivided mistress. Neither poverty, nor wealth, nor the rudeness of life, nor the subtleties of enlightenment are an obstacle to paganism. Man with two higher education just as capable of running to the "grandmother" for magical help, like a poorly educated peasant. The twilight, magical consciousness is able to interpret and reinterpret everything for itself, is able to add its own fly in the ointment to any amount of honey, destroying the value of the latter.
This, it seems to me, also applies to Shrovetide. Celebrating it in the sense of seeing off winter and meeting the long-awaited spring warmth was not shameful even in the years of state-atheistic ideology. There it was not about preparing for Great Lent and the gradual rejection of fast food. The meaning of the gospel readings about the prodigal son, about the Last Judgment and Adam's exile was not explained to the walking masses. Instead, hot pancakes and vodka were presented as “ours”, “native”, especially tasty in the cold, burning stuffed animals, the sounds of an accordion, rolling downhill, a woman’s screeching, skates, bells of a distant troika ... - in a word, everything that is invested in the concept of "a la russe" and Mikhalkov's style of "The Barber of Siberia". Yes, it's okay.
There is a place and time in life for healthy laughter, jokes and tasty food. Only it is necessary to call it by its proper names, and not "spiritual revival" or "return of traditions."
Here, paganism does not sleep, but it shows marvelous agility in the era of information technology. It offers everyone its vision of the meaning of Shrovetide with the symbols of an increasing day, pancakes, shaped like the sun, and so on.
The church spent centuries on the churching of the pagan calendar and folk rituals. Until the end, as already mentioned, paganism did not die. Now it will be ready at any moment, decorating its head with either a mermaid wreath or a buffoon hat, depending on the season, to appear at the festivities and offer its own version of understanding the world. Repelling pagan attacks on the historical Church will now be one of, if not the most difficult, then the most constant occupation of church apologists.
So there is nothing to be clever about Shrovetide.
This is a weekly period of time when meat is no longer eaten, and fasting on Wednesday and Friday is canceled for dairy food. This is the time when on Wednesday and Friday services in the temple are performed according to the fasting order, and the liturgy is not served. Maybe in the old days, for a hard-working peasant, this was a time of rare fun, mixed with riot, eating and drinking from the belly and fisticuffs. Maybe this was some folk therapy for the half-dark soul of a tired person. But now is a different time and different tasks.
You won’t breathe before death and you won’t eat before fasting. Modernity is noisy even without Maslenitsa. She, modernity, believes the meaning of life in escaping from reality and in the constant change of impressions.
For us, this should be a time of gathering thoughts around the upcoming fast. And fasting itself should be perceived as a time of smart war for personal immortality in Christ, as a time of abstinence in bread and abundant nutrition “with every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Maslenitsa is the last preparatory week before Lent. This holiday has pagan roots, which later became closely intertwined with Christian traditions.
The traditions of Maslenitsa have been formed for centuries. Shrovetide week has long been considered a time of joy and fun, which precedes a long period of strict abstinence and austerity - Great Lent. However, Orthodox rules prohibit excessive fun.
The pagan roots of Maslenitsa
In ancient times, when there was no Christianity in Russia yet, Maslenitsa was a holiday of winter farewells. People welcomed the approaching spring. They did it with dancing, fun and feasting.
According to legend, nature flourished at the time when Maslenitsa came. People tried to speed up the departure of cold weather by ritually burning an effigy, which symbolized winter itself. They threw unnecessary things into the fire to get rid of the negativity. These rituals are popular to this day. They do not contradict Christian canons, therefore they are not prohibited by the Church.
From time immemorial, pancakes have been prepared for Maslenitsa, which personified the Sun. As you know, in our time this tradition is treated as warmly as possible. Even Orthodox churches arrange days when everyone can come and eat a festive pancake in honor of the beginning of Great Lent. Before fasting, you can afford fatty foods, because people know that a long ban will be imposed on it soon.
This is a bright holiday that unites us all before the expectation of warmth and the Sun. All week long, people rejoice that the long-awaited spring will come soon.
Christian meaning of Maslenitsa
Christians celebrate this holiday because the introduction Orthodox faith was gradual and permanent. Rituals and ceremonies of pagan origin were eradicated for many centuries, and some of them were so important and well-established that the church decided to simply turn a blind eye to them. Maslenitsa is the most best to that example. It will not be possible to completely drive out traditions, because they will live forever with the Russian people.
Priests say that Shrovetide festivities should not go beyond the permissible level, because Cheese Week is the last week of preparing the fast, dedicated to the Last Judgment, which will be at the end of time and will affect every dead and every living person. The churches remember the teachings and words of the prophets about what will be the last moments of the life of mankind. This is a reminder to all believers that every person on Earth is equal before God. There are no exceptions.
The main thing on this holiday is not to abuse alcohol and not to forget about prayers. On Maslenitsa you can no longer eat meat, but you can eat milk, cheese and eggs. Don't forget also that this week ends with Forgiveness Sunday, when you need to apologize to everyone you offended. This day will teach you to forgive the sins of your offenders so that God can forgive your own sins. As the saying goes, "forgive, for you will be forgiven."
Use the Maslenitsa time to set yourself in the right mood before Lent. Visit the holy places of Russia or just be close to your family if you have a vacation or free time. Do not miss the opportunity to properly spend the week of the Last Judgment. Good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and
16.02.2017 02:26
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