Maslenitsa in Russia / 9-11 класс

Maslenitsa or Shrovetide or the blini week or the pancake’s week in Russia…… Have you heard of such a day? Авдеева Антонина Викторовна учитель английского языка ГБОШИ «Школа-интернат одаренных детей им.А.П. Гужвина», г. Астрахань

The tradition of Maslenitsa dates back to pagan times, when Russian olk would say farewell to winter and welcome spring. he religious Maslenitsa celebration activities consist of 3 weeks starting ith omnivorous week, with no limitations in the diet, followed by “ryaba eckled week with ferial and fast days and culminates with what we now as Maslenitsa week or Cheese week. The church has long been trying to eradicate the pagan side of the holi ut only managed to reduce the Maslenitsa week from 14 to 7 days in th VII century.

Pancakes The name of the holiday, Maslenitsa, means butter or oil, owes its existence the tradition of baking pancakes (blini – in Russian). They are essential to the celebration of Maslenitsa. On the one hand, round, golden pancakes, as people believed, embody a little of the sun’s grace and might to warm up the frozen Earth. In old days pancakes were cooked from buckwheat flour, lending a red colour, making the significance even more evident.

You can eat these tasty pancakes with red or black caviar.

You can enjoy eating them with jam and berries.

n the other hand, the circle has been considered a sacred figure ussia, protecting people from evil. Hence is the habit of going horsebac und the settlement several times, decorating a cartwheel and carrying a pole along the streets, and dancing the round dance – “horovod”. ancakes also symbolize birth and death; in old Russia a pancake was en to a woman in labor, and is a ritual funeral repast in many homes. Maslenitsa pancakes are cooked in very large quantities to be used in ost every ritual, they are given to friends and family all through the we

TRADITIONAL MASLENITSA SCHEDULE: Monday – welcoming. hildren and grown ups assemble a Maslenitsa doll out f straw and old woman’s clothes. They place it on a ole and go dancing in horovods, after that the doll is arried to the top of the snow hill, while at the same ime people enjoy sliding down it. People start baking he pancakes. raditionally the first pancake goes to beggars to pay he tribute to the memory of deceased relatives. It was a common knowledge that if one oesn’t have as much fun as he or she could during aslenitsa, they are doomed to grow old and oneliness and misery.

A Maslenitsa doll.

Tuesday – Playing om the early morning, the youngsters would chute down ice-hills and ea cakes. Petrushka show are out in balagans. Groups of mummers go from me to home and surprise everyone with on-the-spot performances. n can kiss any passing woman on the streets during the day. ups of friends drive around in sledges. Single guys sleigh rides to look for young beautiful girls. The whole purpose of these games and activi to make the matchmaking process easer and form couples to get marri he Krasnaya Gorka (Red Hill Holiday, a Sunday, after Easter, traditional couples to be married).

Wednesday – the Sweet tooth day. On this day sons-in-law would pay a visit to “enjoy their mother-in-law’ ancakes”. Thursday – Revelry This is the time for Broad Maslenitsa to start. In old times people were llowed to work, and all the fun reached its boiling point. n this day first fights traditionally take place. First fighting was said to ommemorate military history, when soldiers fought each other in and-to-hand combat “Never hit a man when he is down”. t is a Russian proverb and its roots are found in this Maslenitsa.

Friday – Mother –in-law’s eve. –in-law are inviting their good-mothers to their gatherings. lywed couples in old times were dressed in their best and rode sledges how off prosperity and well-being. Saturday – Sister-in-law’s gatherings. his day young wives would invite their sisters-in-laws for a feast. sband’s sisters are single young men are expected to attend the party. ey are married, she would invite all her married relatives along and whole train would travel from one household to another. is ritual was important, since the relationship between the young wife her sister-in-law initially was expected to be rather tense. Even the ori he Russian word denoting “sister-in-law” is pretty self-explanatory. In sian it stems from the word “evil” (“zolovka” from the word “zlo” – “ev ers-in-law initially were always suspicious and hostile towards her husba etheart, who in Russian is called “nevestka” meaning “outsider”.

Sunday – Forgiveness Day. a day to ask for forgiveness. Young married couples would visit their ves, present gifts to their matchmakers, parents and friends, who chee at the wedding. The most honorary gift was a towel. For a woman it wa of soap. he evening made a doll of Maslenitsa and burn it, so that spring will com r. In the old times people even threw away the remnants of pancakes ood to the huge bonfire explaining their children that all the nourishing disappeared in fire to prepare them for the Lent. slenitsa ended with the first day of the Lent – Clean Monday which was dered the day of purification from sin and fast forbidden food. On Clean day people usually wash in a bath, women wash dishes and cleans them remained forbidden food.

Today not all of the traditions are followed by most people during the blini week as we call it, but what is for sure – we are looking forward to this event every year, we bake pancakes, visit relatives and friends, go to watch different folk dancing and the burning of the Maslenitsa doll.

Источники материалов 11329635437_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-2.jpg 1329635440_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-7.jpg 1329635447_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-18.jpg 83c82b090930e2f64059f102718ffc0c.jpg 1329635451_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-9.jpg 1329635457_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-12.jpg 1329635461_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-3.jpg 1329635466_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-4.jpeg 1329635471_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-21.jpg 1329635474_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi.jpg 1329635493_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-17.jpg 1329635494_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-25.jpg 1329635508_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-15.jpg 1329635520_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-6.jpg 1329635525_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-14.jpg 1329635527_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-24.jpg 1329635530_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-8.jpg 1329635548_na-maslenicu-20-fevralya-statusi-pozdravleniya-stihi-27.jpg e4e285tmb_1236049823771132.jpg 248b601a0c95d726b34b5ec31a.jpg tmb_1236050060175271.jpg http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/maslenitsa/