Pancake week

Shrovetide is a holiday of farewell to winter, the eighth week before Easter. It took place before Great Lent, in the damp week of the Orthodox calendar, and ended with Forgiveness Sunday. The history of Shrovetide is rooted deep in antiquity. Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday that we inherited from pagan culture, preserved even after the adoption of Christianity. It is believed that initially it was associated with the spring solstice, but with the adoption of Christianity, it began to precede Great Lent and depend on its timing. However, this is not all about the meaning of Maslenitsa. For the Slavs, for a long time it was also a New Year's Eve! Indeed, until the XIV century, the year in Russia began in March. Even pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Maslenitsa, had ritual significance: round, ruddy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun, which flared up more and more brighter, lengthening the days. And according to old beliefs, it was believed: how a person meets a year, so he will be. Therefore, our ancestors did not skimp on this holiday on a generous feast and unrestrained fun. And people called Shrovetide among the people "honest", "wide", "gluttonous", and even "ruinous". Centuries passed, life changed, with the adoption of Christianity new church holidays appeared, but the wide Maslenitsa continued to live. Nothing could force the Russians to abandon their favorite holiday - hospitable and riotous fun. By the way, at one time Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich tried to calm down his daring subjects with the strictest measures. The governors sent out tsarist decrees throughout the cities and villages, either prohibiting private distilling, or demanding that Russians not gamble, and did not carry out fist fights. But neither the formidable tsarist decrees, nor the instructions of the patriarch were able to cope with the overflowing fun.