PROJECT
SPADCHYNA
Maslenitsa (Cheese week, Oiler) is a winter week before the beginning of the lent which is celebrated in the Orthodox Church. It falls on the 8th week before Easter. The name of Maslenitsa came from the fact that in late February — early March the cows had already calved. Then the peasant housewives had a lot of milk. The products made from milk were main food on the table.
Ritual food of the week was butter, cottage cheese and cheese. Every week pancakes were eaten without meat, so in the Christian tradition the week was called myasapusny — without meat. It was thought that all this week in the evening people shouldn't be in business. They made visits in the evening, sledged from the icy hills. On Thursday that was called wide, they treated their cows with pancakes, went round horses of the age of three years, and chose the village shepherd for the next year. During this week sons-in-law had the opportunity to visit their mothers-in-law in order to eat pancakes.On Saturday sisters-in-law invited relatives. The young men harness horses in sleigh and decorated them with ribbons and bells.
On Saturday before Maslenitsa the Parent's Day was celebrated in Belarus and in some places in Russia. On this day people remembered the deceased parents. They baked pancakes specially for them. The first pancake was placed on the synagogue or roof, left in the cemetery. Pancakes were given to children, the poor and the nuns with the request to commemorate the deceased .
Rituals of Maslenitsa are connected with the revival of fruit-bearing land forces. The main aim of ritual is to see winter off and to greet Spring. There are also a lot of Maslenitsa rites. Some of them are dedicated to the newlyweds. As a rule, this week they visit wife's parents (sons-in-law come to their mothers-in-law in order to eat pancakes).
Maslenitsa
In the morning and in the evening people invited the dead relatives from their house to share family meal consisting of beef, boiled pork, roast lamb.
The culmination of Maslenitsa week. All close people asked each other to forgive them for all the troubles caused by the year. In the evening of Forgiveness Sunday they commemorated the dead, went to the cemetery to say goodbye to their relatives. That day they went to the bath. People burned festive leftovers and washed the dishes thoroughly. At the end of the holiday they burned a scarecrow of Maslenitsa. Its ash was scattered in the fields.
In general Maslenitsa is fun. Girls, young women wear their best clothes. Young people ride on swings, sledge from hills. The higher they fly on the swing, the farther they go on slides, the longer will be flax. Pancakes and songs of Maslenitsa are important things of this week.