Shrovetide - the Slavic holiday of the beginning of spring

At the beginning of March, Slavic people traditionally celebrate Maslenitsa — a holiday dedicated to welcoming spring. It came from pre-Christian times, when the Slavs were pagan.

It's interesting that at first it celebrated not only winter-spring change, but the remembrance of the dead. As for the date, people tended to choose it in correlation with spring equinox.

As Church intervened in the usual routine, there was an attempt to cancel this “unholy feast”, but eventually it remained in the calendar, just a bit changed. Now you must be wondering, “when do you celebrate Maslenitsa?”

When do you celebrate Maslenitsa? 🗓

Now the period of Maslenitsa is counted the following way: 1) take spring equinox date 2) then first full moon after spring equinox date 3) after that, the closest Sunday (which will be Easter) 4) subtract 40 days — that will be Lent 5) the week before Lent will be 🥞 Maslenitsa 🥞.

How do you celebrate Maslenitsa? 🛷

The main feature of Maslenitsa is that it lasts not just one day, but the whole week! Each day of the week you're supposed to do Maslenitsa-related activities or rituals. The main thing to do is to reconnect with your family and relatives. Pay a visit to your aunt, help your mother-in-law cook pancakes, and maybe even arrange for a future wedding.

The climax comes on Thursday, when all games and concerts reach the most entertaining point, including fistfights. Sunday is the day for saying goodbye to Maslenitsa and eating as much as you can before the Lent.

Maslenitsa offers us a wide range of entertaining activities:

• Build and burn a stuffed figure of winter 🤡🔥. Scatter the ashes on the field that you're going to plow, for it increases the chances of rich crops. If this creature refuses to burn, you can just rip it apart and scatter — that will count too. This ritual might sound cruel, but it's purpose is to say goodbye to winter and its challenges and greet spring with its abundance and new beginnings.
• Drink alcohol and party as hard as you can 🍷 — ride sleighs with friends, watch bear shows, participate in horse races, and engage in fistfights.
• Dress up in carnival costumes and feel the spirit of the upcoming spring ☀.
• Stuff your belly with food 🍖. Mostly pancakes or “blini” (Russian name). Trust me, it's the best you can do before the Lent.

Well, the modern tendencies suggest that you share your pics from Maslenitsa on social media and use emojis from this set. Copy blini 🥞, cat 🐈, sun 🌞 and other symbols from this page and paste in Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.