 | RUSSIAN MASLENITSA |
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In orthodox tradition Maslenitsa week is called Cheese week. You can’t already eat meat these days, but still, you can taste pancakes with caviar, sour-cream or honey. It’s an old Russian tradition to have a lot of fun during the whole week up to “Proshenoje Voskresenje” (The Sunday of Forgiveness), when all people forgive others and ask forgiveness. They want to enter the Lent with no anger or insult and, having become modest and spiritually pure, wait for the Easter. Traditionally each of the days of this week has its own name.
Monday – Vstrecha (meeting/reception/welcome)
The first day of the pancake week was usually started with a visit to relatives. Early in the morning every married girl went to her parent to spend the day with them, and in the evening her father- and mother-in-law used to come to see them too. And there, at the table, they could decide where and when to spend time, which guests to receive, when to go on the spree. Slides, swings, buffoon booths, tables with sweets used to have been fixed by the first day of the week.. Those who didn’t have fun, who never tobogganed or swung, those who didn’t enjoy the buffoon jokes were doomed to loose any luck, to come to dreadful grief and getting old to be lonely and miserable. Rich people started cooking pancakes on Monday, the poor – on Thursday or Friday. The first pancake cooked was to be given to the beggary, who would pray for the diseased. Or it could be put at the dormer for parents’ souls. Putting the pancake at the dormer-window one used to say “Our dear parents, that’s the pancake for your souls”.
Tuesday – Zaigrishi (games/ at play)
Tuesday was the day for unrestrained, merry games, tobogganing and entertainments. On that day young people used to visit each other, toboggan and eat pancakes. Rich people constructed slides in front of their houses – mostly elder brothers did that to entertain their sisters. The rich asked special people – “pozivatki” (invitators) to visit their neighbors and friends and invite them to their houses. Actually, all the events on the pancake week were meant for one thing only – proposal, so that after the Lent young people could marry.
Wednesday – Lakomka (gourmand)
On Wednesday mothers-in-law treated their sons-in-law with pancakes and entertained them inviting all the relatives. And take into account the fact that at that time a mother-in-law had about five or even ten sons-in-law! And she had to stand a treat to everybody and be amicable and hospitable so that all her sons-in-law were satisfied.
Thursday – Razgul (revel)
Thursday was a day of much fun – sledging, fisticuffs and different rites. For example – a huge pole with a wheel attached was ties to sledges and on that wheel an ingenious and a cheery fellow was sitting diverting people. And a whole procession was following him singing songs.
Friday – Teshini Vecherki (the evening for mothers-in-law)
That time sons-in-law were to invite their mothers-in-law and treat them with pancakes and sweets. The invitation could be either an honorary one – when the mother-in-law was invited for a festive lunch with all her relatives; or a plain one – she was invited for dinner. The more people were invited for the meal, the more honours were granted to the mother-in-law.
Saturday – Zolovkini posidelki (a call on the sister-in-law)
On that day a young wife used to invite the relatives of her husband. If his sisters were not married, the wife could invite her unmarried female friends too. The newly married gave presents to her sisters-in-law. An interesting fact about the Russian notions “zolovka” (sister-in-law – the sister of the husband) and “nevestka” (sister-in-law – the wife of the brother) is that the first notion originates from the word “evil” as the sisters-in-law used to treat the wife of their brother – “nevestka” (notion can be interpreted as “nobody knows where from she is”) suspiciously and often maliciously.
Sunday – Prosheni Den (The Sunday of Forgiveness)
On the last day of that week people were to forgive each other. The newly married visited their relatives and friends and gave presents to them in return for wedding gifts. The godfather and godmother of one''s child also received presents. It was believed that the present for the godmother of your child should be a bar of soup, for the godfather – a towel. On Sunday a man of straw, representing winter, was burnt. That symbolized the end of winter. The ashes were scattered over the fields – to gather in a rich harvest in autumn. Country people made a bonfire of straw, useless trash and lumber. Everything that wouldn’t be necessary any more was burnt. In the cities people made fires too, but their aim was different – they wanted to melt ice heaps – the last manifestation of winter. In the evening children bowed down to their parents and asked for forgiveness, after them all the relatives and close people did the same. Thus people could get free from all the insults they had had during the year and enter the new year with a light heart and clear conscience.
