Maslenitsa is one of the oldest Russian holidays. Pagan in origin, Maslenitsa peacefully “coexisted” with the religious traditions of Christianity. From a week of farewell to winter, the holiday turned into a week before Lent - 7 days of rest, fun and hearty food.
Each of the days of Maslenitsa, which this year will last from March 4 to 10, has its own name and purpose. “First Regional” tells what and where to do from Monday to Sunday during Maslenitsa week.
Monday opens the so-called “Narrow Maslenitsa” - the first half of the week. Household work is allowed on these days.
The first day of Maslenitsa is called the Meeting. According to custom, matchmakers meet, and everything happens on the territory of the daughter-in-law’s house. From the very morning she is sent to her parents, and in the evening her father-in-law and mother-in-law come for her, at the same time agreeing on the place of the general celebration.
On Monday, the construction of snow cities, swings and booths for a mass holiday will be completed. From straw and old clothes they make a scarecrow of Maslenitsa, which is carried through the streets on a sleigh.
On the same day they start baking pancakes. The first one is supposed to be given to poor neighbors so that they, not being able to cook pancakes, will remember the deceased.
Tuesday is called Flirting. On this day, guys and girls get to know each other, ride down the slides, and go to each other’s pancakes. Parents actively encourage this: it is customary for young people to get married during Maslenitsa week, because the church prohibits weddings during Lent. In case of luck, the wedding takes place on Krasnaya Gorka - the first Sunday after Easter (in 2019 Krasnaya Gorka falls on May 5).
Lakomki is the third day of Maslenitsa week and the last day of “Narrow Maslenitsa”. On this day, the mother-in-law greets her son-in-law and his friends with a rich treat, while she herself watches the passing feast. You can determine his character by his son-in-law's taste preferences. It is believed that if a man reaches for pancakes with salty filling, he has a difficult character. Sweet lovers are soft and affectionate.
On Wednesday you can eat plenty of pancakes.
Thursday, or Razgulay, is the first day of “Broad Maslenitsa”. On this day it’s time to stop chores and start celebrating.
Both young and old go out into the street to ride a sleigh, watch fist fights, battles for snowy cities, or become participants in them, and sing jokes. On this day, ritual bonfires are lit and people jump over them.
Friday is called Mother-in-law's evening. On this day, a man meets his wife's mother. She should be officially invited. His mother-in-law comes to his house with her friends. At the table - songs, fun, good advice about family life.
True, the wife prepares refreshments for all those gathered.
The day of the sister-in-law, the husband's sister, falls on Saturday. It's called Sister-in-law's gatherings. On this day, a woman should call her husband’s relatives to her place, the main one of whom is her sister. If she is unmarried, then she is supposed to invite unmarried friends into the house, but if she is married in a church, family people should be next to her. All guests are treated to pancakes, and the sister-in-law is given a nice gift.
The last day of Maslenitsa week is Farewell. On Sunday, the effigy of Maslenitsa is carried on a sleigh to the field. This is called the “Maslenitsa train”. Then the effigy is burned - this is a “funeral”. The ashes are scattered across the fields to ensure a fertile year. From now on, winter should go away, giving way to a sunny and warm spring.
With the advent of Christianity, Farewell to Maslenitsa became known as Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, it is customary to perform the rite of forgiveness in churches, to ask each other for forgiveness for all the grievances of the past year. In the evening, as on Monday, they commemorate the dead and, if possible, visit the cemetery.
Keeping all the traditions of pancake week is fun and tasty. But for Maslenitsa to be a joy and not a burden, you need to eat in moderation and choose only the right pancakes. How to do this, read
Each day of Maslenitsa has its own special name, traditions and rules: church and folk. Almost all the customs that we will discuss below existed long before Rus' became an Orthodox country and often have exclusively pagan or simply folk, everyday roots.
The Church did not make Maslenitsa its holiday, but rethought this period of the year - the days leading up to Lent. It was under the influence of Christianity that this pagan holiday became Maslenitsa in the form in which we have known it for many centuries. Through the efforts of the Church, Maslenitsa lost its former pagan meaning and turned into a simple week of relaxation and fun (read more about the history and church understanding of Maslenitsa). At the same time, in different countries This holiday has its own national flavor.
IN Slavic tradition Cheese Week is divided into two periods: Narrow Maslenitsa and Broad Maslenitsa. Narrow Maslenitsa is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Wide Maslenitsa - Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Monday opens Narrow Maslenitsa. In the morning, the father-in-law and mother-in-law sent the daughter-in-law to her father and mother for the day, and in the evening they themselves went to visit the matchmakers. We agreed on the time and place of the festivities. We finished building snow cities, swings, and booths.
On Monday they started baking pancakes. The first pancake was given to poor neighbors so that they would remember the deceased.
All traditions associated with the Maslenitsa effigy were exclusively pagan and in no way connected with Orthodoxy. It was made from straw and old clothes, and carried through the streets on a sleigh.
On this day, brides' viewings took place. Parents had to have time to marry the newlyweds before the beginning of Lent, because the Church does not allow getting married during Lent. If everything went well, then immediately after Easter, on Krasnaya Gorka, the wedding took place.
Therefore, on Tuesday of Cheese Week, boys and girls got to know each other, rode down the slides together, and came to each other for pancakes.
On Wednesday, the son-in-law came to his mother-in-law for pancakes and brought other guests with him. The mother-in-law closely watched how her son-in-law behaved at the table. People said that if a man chooses pancakes with salty filling, it means he is stubborn and has a difficult character. And if they are sweet, then he will be soft and affectionate with his wife. But this sign, of course, is also not associated with the Orthodox tradition and is considered superstition.
In general, on this day it was customary to eat as many pancakes as your heart desires.
Thursday - start day Wide Maslenitsa. Household work stopped and festivities began.
The entertainment was very different: they rode sleighs and sleds, staged fist fights and battles for snowy cities, sang carols, burned ritual bonfires (another relic of paganism) and jumped over fire.
On this day, the mother-in-law came to visit her son-in-law for a return visit, and took a group of friends with her. The daughter was baking pancakes for her husband and guests.
Young daughters-in-law invited their sisters-in-law and other relatives of their husbands to visit. It is interesting that if the sister-in-law was unmarried, then the daughter-in-law invited her unmarried friends, and if she was married, then married relatives came to visit. The daughter-in-law had to give her sister-in-law some kind of gift.
Farewell to Maslenitsa, or Forgiveness Sunday, is the main day of Cheese Week, the ritual before the start of Lent. The rite of forgiveness was performed in churches, clergy and laity asked forgiveness from each other for all the grievances of the past year.
In the evening we remembered the dead and went to the cemetery.
While believers were preparing for the beginning of Lent, the holiday was just beginning for fans of pagan traditions. , and the ashes were scattered across the fields so that the year would be fertile. The effigy was transported to the place of burning on a horse-drawn sleigh; this was called the “Maslenitsa train.” In some areas, a “Maslenitsa funeral” was held, which was a parody of a church funeral procession.
Thus, Maslenitsa combines both Christian and completely unrelated traditions.
The choice is up to the individual. However, it is important that the Church does not prohibit fun on Maslenitsa, warning only against superstitions and excessive gluttony.
On the screensaver there is a fragment of a photo
Name of the days of Maslenitsa week
The last week before Lent is called Cheese Week, Maslenitsa. After it, preparations for Easter begin. Maslenitsa is celebrated seven weeks before Easter. Maslenitsa
- this is the funniest, most riotous and truly universal holiday. The tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa dates back to pagan times. Among the ancient Slavs, this holiday symbolized farewell to winter, and was celebrated for fourteen days. The people loved him and called him kind words
: “honest Maslenitsa”, “cheerful”, “killer whale”, “quail”, “pereberha”, “yaschka”. With the introduction of the Christian religion, there were attempts to eradicate the pagan holiday, but the churchmen only managed to postpone its dates (usually the end of January - beginning of March) and shorten it to eight days.
The entire Maslenitsa week was called meat-eating week, which meant a complete rejection of meat. This is a kind of preparation for the subsequent Lent, which lasts seven weeks, until Easter. But the ban on meat did not mean a refusal of other fast foods, so they eat milk, cheese, and cottage cheese. Therefore, Maslenitsa week was called “Cheese”. In addition, fish is not prohibited. But the main attribute of this holiday in Rus' has always been considered pancakes
. There is a saying: “Without a pancake it’s not Maslena, without a pie there’s no birthday.” However, Ukrainians and Belarusians often did not bake pancakes on Maslenitsa, replacing them with dumplings with cheese or the same pancakes, but made with buckwheat flour. Pancakes were baked throughout Maslenitsa week
Writers and historians note that Maslenitsa has always been celebrated on a grand scale; everyone, regardless of age and social status, took part in the celebration. Let us remember how Pushkin wrote about this holiday in Eugene Onegin.
They kept life peaceful
Habits of a dear old man;
At their Maslenitsa fat
There were Russian pancakes...
A. Pushkin. "Eugene Onegin"
During Maslenitsa week, various kinds of rituals and celebrations were held, and in a certain sequence. This can be seen in the names of the days of Maslenitsa.
Monday was called a meeting. On this day, a stuffed Maslenitsa was made from straw, dressed in an old women's clothing, and then, putting him on a pole, they rolled him around the village in a sleigh. Then Maslenitsa was staged on a snowy mountain, where sleigh rides began. On the day of the meeting, funny songs were sung:
And we celebrated Maslenitsa,
We met, soul, we met,
We visited the hill,
We've been, soul, we've been.
They lined the mountain with pancakes,
They laid it out, soul, they laid it out.
They filled the mountain with cheese,
Stuffed, soul, stuffed,
They poured oil on the mountain,
They watered, soul, watered...
“Glorious” songs in honor of Maslenitsa were widespread:
Our dear Maslenitsa,
Avdotyushka Izotievna,
Dunya is white, Dunya is rosy,
The braid is long, three arshins long,
Scarlet ribbon, two-and-a-half pieces,
The scarf is white, new-fashioned,
Eyebrows black, pointed,
The fur coat is blue, the swallows are red;
Sandals are frequent, big-headed,
The foot wraps are white and bleached!
Tuesday was called flirting. On this day, various amusements began: sleigh rides, folk festivals, representation. Crowds of mummers walked the streets, and they rode around the city in troikas and on simple sledges. Booths were staged on the streets, where performances were given led by Petrushka and Maslenitsa grandfather, and home concerts were also held. Some went down the slides.
After her coronation in Moscow, Catherine II gave the people a masquerade at Maslenitsa, directed by the famous 18th-century actor Fyodor Volkov.
Both ordinary and noble people were invited to watch the masquerade and to take part in the evening skiing from the mountains.
Wednesday was called a gourmet. From this day on, feasts began in all houses. Guests were treated to pancakes, tables were set, and beer was brewed in villages. Tents and stalls appeared everywhere, selling hot sbitny (drinks made from water, honey and spices), roasted nuts, and gingerbread. Here they sold tea from a boiling samovar.
Thursday - revelry, turning point, wide Thursday: this day was the middle of games and fun. On this day, the so-called fists took place - fist fights, known since Ancient Rus'. According to the rules, it was forbidden to put something heavy in your fist, hit someone who was lying down, attack several people against one, hit below the belt or on the back of the head. Those who violated this rule were severely punished. One could fight “wall to wall” (“collective battles”) or “one on one” (one on one), conduct so-called “hunter” fights for experts, fans of such fights.
And yet, these were rather not serious competitions, but fun game, a holiday to which, naturally, the clothing also corresponded.
Friday was called mother-in-law's evenings. A whole series of Maslenitsa customs were aimed at speeding up weddings and helping single youth find a partner.
A lot of attention was paid to the newlyweds. According to tradition, they dressed up, rode out in painted sleighs, and visited all the guests who were at their wedding. They also rode down the ice mountain to the songs. On this day, the sons-in-law were supposed to visit the mother-in-law, who was supposed to bake pancakes and treat the son-in-law well. In some places, “mother-in-law’s pancakes” took place on Gourmet Day, that is, on Wednesday during Shrovetide Week, but could also be scheduled for Friday.
If sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law on Wednesday, then on Friday the sons-in-law had to invite their mother-in-law for pancakes - this custom was called “mother-in-law’s evening.” On Friday, the former friend was also invited, who performed the same duties as at the wedding, and received a gift for his troubles. The mother-in-law, who was invited by the son-in-law, had to send the son-in-law everything necessary for baking pancakes in the evening: a frying pan, a ladle, etc., and the father-in-law would send a bag of buckwheat and cow butter. The son-in-law's disrespect for this event was considered a disgrace and was the reason for eternal enmity between him and his mother-in-law.
Saturday - sister-in-law's get-togethers: relatives came to visit the young daughters-in-law. As you can see, every day of Maslenitsa week was accompanied by a special feast.
Sunday - farewell, tselovnik, Forgiveness day, Forgiveness Sunday. This day marks the end of the Maslenitsa cycle. If during the year people offended each other in any way, on Forgiveness Sunday they asked for forgiveness. Having met, people greeted each other with a kiss, and one of them said: “Forgive me, perhaps.” The second one answered: “God will forgive you!” - and that’s where all the grievances ended.
For the same purpose, on Forgiveness Sunday they went to the cemetery, left pancakes on the graves, prayed and worshiped the ashes of their relatives.
On Sunday of Maslenitsa week, a stuffed animal - “Madame - Maslenitsa” was placed on a sleigh, and she sat next to him beautiful girl. Three young guys harnessed the sleigh and carried Maslenitsa through the streets. The sleigh with the scarecrow was accompanied by a string of sleighs - the so-called Maslenitsa train. A large fire was lit outside the outskirts, a pancake was given to Maslenitsa, and then solemnly burned at the stake. At the same time they said: “Burn, pancakes, burn, Maslenitsa!” Pancakes were also thrown into the fire, as if sacrificing them for future fertility. The effigy of Maslenitsa was burned as a sign of farewell to winter and welcome of spring.
This is well expressed in the fairy tale play “The Snow Maiden” by A.N. Ostrovsky. Thinking about spring, the Berendey peasants sang:
Maslenitsa wettail!
Get out of the yard
Your time has come!
We have streams from the mountains,
Play the ravines
Turn out the shafts
Set up your plow!
Spring is red,
Our sweetie has arrived!
Sad notes are already appearing in the farewell songs sung on Maslenitsa Sunday. Maslenitsa is blamed for deceiving people, ruining them, eating everything, and now they are forced to observe Lent. But still, the main content is the departure of winter - “It’s enough, winter, winter.” We celebrated this winter holiday to thank her for all the good things she gave. At the same time, she was driven along with the frosts, looking forward to spring.
Such a concept as Orthodox holiday Maslenitsa does not exist, since this day is not marked in any way in the church calendar.
But there is such a thing as Cheese Week - the last Sunday before Great Lent, on which it is allowed to eat non-lenten food.
Is it possible for believers to celebrate Maslenitsa?
Great Lent is 40 days during which it is forbidden to eat anything meaty or fatty (to a large extent), and also to humble your flesh and desires, repent before the Lord and humble yourself. The Church understands that not all people (or rather, a few) can withstand fasting at all, not to mention a sharp renunciation of everything pleasant to the body, so it introduces parishioners into this state gradually. Last week
Preparation for Lent is Cheese or Cheese Week (week), which coincides with the pagan holiday Maslenitsa. You cannot celebrate the Orthodox holiday of Maslenitsa, since such a thing simply does not exist, but you can take part in eating pancakes and festivities before plunging into fasting. At this time, they are already excluded from the diet meat products
This is the last opportunity to satisfy your flesh and have fun before an important spiritual test.
Pancakes for Maslenitsa
history of the holiday
Maslenitsa is an original pagan holiday, celebrated long before Christianity, at a time when people worshiped Yaril, Perun and other pagan gods. Therefore, the Church does not consider him real church holiday
, but celebrates Cheese Week, which falls at the same time and involves eating goodies before Lent. Maslenitsa as a holiday is very joyful and symbolizes the meeting of winter and spring, i.e. a kind of transition from death to life. The custom of celebrating it dates back to the Greek and Roman holidays, when they celebrated spring, and later these carnivals mixed with Slavic rituals during the day.
spring equinox
Important! Maslenitsa has become for the Slavs a symbol of the expulsion of winter and the welcome of warmth and sun, which is why it is customary to have fun, hold competitions and games - after all, spring should be greeted with joy!
Maslenitsa has its own traditions and legends, but they are all pagan, so a believer should not delve deeply into the meaning and significance of them. It is only worth knowing that according to pagan beliefs, Maslenitsa was the daughter of Frost and her task was to expel cold weather and winter, i.e. it became a symbol of spring and the sun. Why didn't the Church ban it initially? Christianity is simply not used to acting with such methods: it does not prohibit everything negative and incorrect, thereby not turning people away, but gives it new meaning
, clean.
Of course, we are not talking about obvious sins, but if a pagan holiday can be reborn into a Christian one, why not? The Church deprived Maslenitsa of its pagan meaning and turned it into a regular week of rest. At this time, believers can prepare for Lent, meet with relatives, show their hospitality and feed the needy.
About culinary traditions:
Why does the church celebrate Maslenitsa
In fact, the church celebrates Cheese Week. The Church simply did not completely abolish the pagan tradition of celebrating the approach of spring and the end of winter, which was celebrated with religious rituals, so as not to alienate people, but, as it were, brought a different meaning to them.
The semi-lenten meal on Maslenitsa reminds Christians of the imminent fast and makes them think about spiritual food. On Tuesday of Maslenitsa week, the repentant prayer of Ephraim the Syrian is read in churches, and drunken revelry is no longer compatible with this. Therefore, the Church allows people to have fun on Maslenitsa and eat delicious foods, but in moderation, in order to accumulate strength for fasting.
Of course, the vision of the Church and the people is significantly different, which is why you can still observe pagan rites and rituals on the streets, as well as widespread drunkenness, but believers should know that the Church prohibits doing this and this is a sin.
Advice! You should not spend this week in revelry and drinking, as well as gluttony.
It is the believers who should think about how they spend this week, because those who come to church only on Christmas or Easter are unlikely to be interested in Church decrees and their own spiritual life. But true believers should take care of their spirit and not associate with the assemblies of the wicked, as stated in the first psalm.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk once said: “Whoever spends Maslenitsa in excesses becomes a clear disobedient to the Church and shows himself unworthy of the very name of a Christian.”
The meaning of the holiday
Considering the meaning of the pagan holiday of Maslenitsa, it must be said that before the revolution it had a much broader meaning than it does now.
It was based on the time cycle and the change of seasons, which is why it was celebrated on the day of the spring equinox. In central Eurasia (Russia, Ukraine) at that time there was unstable weather: either frost or thaw, so Maslenitsa was the last frontier between heat and cold.
Important! In addition to the idea of cyclicality, Maslenitsa also contains the idea of fertility. People sought to help the earth to be reborn after the winter cold in a sacred way, i.e. sanctify it and fill it with strength. Maslenitsa was a pagan worship service, only people worshiped nature and the earth, and not the Lord.
The third idea of the celebration was procreation and the idea of the circle of life. The earth gives life to plants, people feed on them, thereby continuing life, so it is important to pass on this life to children. Life was the most important value.
Last important point Maslenitsa consisted in its memorial essence: peasants believed that the bodies of ancestors, being in the ground, could influence its fertility and, by respecting them, a larger harvest could be achieved. Therefore, memorial dinners and mourning laments were held on Maslenitsa.
After the reign of Christianity in Rus', the sacred meaning of Maslenitsa disappeared, leaving room only for external surroundings and fun.
On the celebration of other non-church holidays:
Burning an effigy on Maslenitsa
Celebration traditions
All holiday traditions are associated with food and fun. The main tradition is to cook pancakes with a variety of fillings all seven days.
And the Church invites Christians to eat dairy products, eggs and fish this week: everything except meat.
Also this week it is traditional to visit friends or invite them to your place. It is also important to provide food to those in need: it is at this time that street feasts make it possible to feed the homeless and give them the opportunity to participate in the common table.
Advice! An invitation to pancakes is considered an excellent reason to make peace with loved ones and improve relationships.
- Traditional festivities are also important:
- carousels were installed in the squares;
- competitions and contests were held;
- tasks for ingenuity and dexterity (getting a prize from a smooth pole, fist fights);
- tables were set with pancakes, gingerbread, rolls, samovars and sugared nuts;
Sledding, skating and skiing were organized.
The Church is not against holiday festivities, but all this should take place in moderation and without excesses.
Rituals
Almost all Maslenitsa traditions can be classified as folk rituals. Even the custom of eating dairy foods, although this is a church institution, peasants in Rus', long before Christianity, ate dairy foods at that time. This custom has natural roots - at the beginning of March, cows begin to calve and their milk appears. This is how the name of the holiday appeared - Maslenitsa.
Its other name is “Kolodiy”, and it comes from another custom - “block life”: people dressed up a deck and presented it as a person.
- This game lasted for a week:
- Monday - “birth”;
- Tuesday - “baptism”;
- environment - “living life”;
- Thursday - “death”;
- Friday - “funeral”;
- Saturday - “mourning”;
Sunday - the holiday ended.
During Kolodiya, women tied the deck to unmarried women, i.e. they tried to pay off and gave bright beads, ribbons and scarves. So the deck became overgrown with things.
No less expressive is the custom of instilling “femininity” in the holiday. The original legend says that Maslenitsa is the daughter of Frost, and that is why it was popularly called Baba Week. Usually at this time engagements and weddings took place. This is how the idea of procreation and childbirth was embodied.
Fist fights on Maslenitsa
Pancakes as a symbol of Maslenitsa Funeral meals were held, during which ancestors were remembered and cutlery was set out for them, traditional pancakes and funeral pies were baked. Families traditionally had dinner together.
One of the main traditions of Maslenitsa (which has survived to this day) is baking pancakes V. This has become a tradition for many reasons:
- at the end of the 19th century they began to believe that the pancake is an image of the sun;
- this dish was a funeral dish among the ancient Slavs;
- he has round shape without end, which brings to mind thoughts of eternal life;
- served warm, which implies earthly joy;
- it's made from familiar foods that speak to life in general.
Usually, on the first day of the week, pancakes were placed on the attic window so that dead ancestors could also treat themselves to the delicacy, or they were given to the poor, with the condition that they would remember the deceased.
The traditional custom was to organize fist fights in the squares. It was believed that shed blood (and earlier battles continued until the first blood was drawn) acted as a sacrifice to the spirits of the dead.
The victim was also a doll knitted from straw, which was burned at the end of the week in the main square of the settlement. Later this custom was transformed into the burning of winter.
Important! The Church treats these rituals as relics of the pagan past of the Slavs. Today everyone knows that there is only one Lord, and He does not require sacrifices or pancakes, He requires only a pure, sincere heart, and this is the main thing.
Watch the video about Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa in 2020 is celebrated from February 24 to March 1. On Cheese Week, or Maslenitsa 2020, meat products are already prohibited, but fish dishes, milk and dairy products, and eggs can still be eaten, even on Wednesday and Friday. Cheese Week is a kind of “half-fast” that sets believers up for a transition from intemperance in food to the strict principles of fasting, to bodily abstinence. Believers begin preparing their soul and body for Lent four weeks before it begins. Week about the Publican and Pharisee, Week about prodigal son
, Meat Eating Week (about the Last Judgment), when meat is acceptable to eat, and Cheese Eating Week - memories of Adam’s exile. This day is known as Forgiveness Sunday, when dairy products are allowed to be consumed.
Cheese Week is the last of the weeks; it is also commonly called Maslenitsa. At church services they talk about the human condition before and after the Fall, about the coming of Jesus Christ, and encourage them to observe Christian commandments and repentance.
Cheese week - Maslenitsa - is close to Lent in some ways. The Church instructs not to give in to amusements and excessive entertainment. On Wednesday and Friday the services are close to those of Lenten. On Tuesday, at Vespers, the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read for the first time. Not a single service during Lent is complete without it.
The meal is semi-small. A smooth change from meat-eating to fasting helps to find a special prayerful mood necessary for spiritual work. After all, bodily abstinence during fasting is necessary precisely for the possibility of intensified spiritual labor. It is necessary to sanctify the body and spirit, remember sins, propitiate God, repent, visit the sick and help the poor, give warmth and peace to friends and family.
From the history
The week preceding Lent, Cheese Week, appeared in the 7th century. In ancient times, it was customary among pagan peoples to welcome spring, see off winter, and say goodbye to cold times. In Rus' they also said goodbye to hibernation and celebrated the rebirth of spring. The holiday dedicated to this was called Maslenitsa, or Komoeditsa.
The Church did not always prohibit pagan holidays and traditions. Instead, folk customs were given a different meaning, holidays were replaced by Christian ones, and churching took place. A similar thing happened with the traditions of radonitsa and caroling. Maslenitsa was dedicated by the church to the preparatory, semi-lenten week before the strict long fast. Pagan semantic content was replaced with Christian one.
About Maslenitsa in the world
Servants Orthodox Church They note that Maslenitsa has turned into one of the holidays, and instead of reverence, disorder and unbridled revelry flourish. Intemperance, gluttony and excessive drinking lead to the commission of new sins instead of atonement for the previous ones and purification spiritually. The widespread celebration of Maslenitsa is condemned by the Church and is considered unworthy of a true believer.
“Rampant Maslenitsa” takes us back to the time of paganism. Observance of pagan traditions and rituals, gluttony and drunkenness, immoderate amusements - this is not at all included in the very meaning of Cheese Week by the Church.
On these days, you are supposed to pay attention to your family, relatives, maintain or establish warm relationships with loved ones and neighbors. We must not forget about the remembrance of the dead.
The traditional hospitality of the Russian people and the desire to gather at a hospitable table is a manifestation of active kindness. Eating together promotes reconciliation and warms hearts. Therefore, the last Sunday before Great Lent is Forgiveness. They prepare for it by giving mercy and consolation, warmth and sympathy, asking for forgiveness for their actions. Fun should be kept in moderation.
What is Cheese Week dedicated to?
You need to prepare to meet the philanthropic Christ by doing six works of gospel mercy. Serve food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, admit a traveler under the roof, give clothing to the naked, visit the sick and pay a visit to the imprisoned. Cheese Week reminds us of the Last Judgment.
Fasting teaches control over desires and moderation. During the time of physical restriction, believers learn to subordinate the aspirations of the body to the power of the spirit, to control worldly desires in order to refrain from committing sin in ordinary life. But if a person, at the end of the fast, breaks his fast without measure, indulges in gluttony, and before a new fast begins to fast, it means that the previous fast did not teach him anything.
At the Gospel readings in the temple they talk about Zacchaeus, who after repentance treated the Savior and his comrades. The parable of the prodigal son teaches peace and forgiveness. Instead of the calf from the parable, on Cheese Week they eat pancakes.
