The history of Maslenitsa. Origins and traditions of Maslenitsa. When did Maslenitsa originate?

There are not many pagan holidays that have survived in modern Russia. Maslenitsa is one of them and is celebrated the week before the start of Lent. It begins on Sunday, which is popularly called the “meat fast,” because it was on this day that one could eat meat for the last time before fasting. Therefore, all families tried to get together to organize magnificent festivities. Many called the holiday “overbooze”, “overeating”, “fun”, “Wide Maslenitsa” (after all, no one left the celebration hungry, and the housewives tried to bake as many pancakes as possible).

History of Maslenitsa

The main internal essence of Maslenitsa is to prepare mentally for the beginning of a long and difficult Lent for the majority. This is a holiday of delicious and satisfying food, when no one denies themselves the desire to enjoy their favorite dishes.

It is interesting that in the times of the pagans it was a holiday of the spring solstice, when all people celebrated the New Year. The celebration lasted the whole week, and its program was very eventful. The name of the holiday was given much later, when the tradition of baking pancakes this week appeared and it was already forbidden to eat meat. Pancakes were also baked by pagans, because their shape resembles the sun.

Of course, during the existence of the holiday, many unpleasant situations occurred when such folk festivities were attacked and even once were completely prohibited. This change was made by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who was very worried that many men were seriously injured during the celebration. Although no one began to carry out these royal decrees, annually repeating all the customs of Maslenitsa.

But Catherine II and Peter I themselves really loved such festivities, when they could also ride a sleigh, go down a hill and eat hot pancakes. During their reign, Maslenitsa comedies, organized by peasants, were also held quite often. The main plot was the grand celebration of Maslenitsa, as well as many real events that happened over the previous year.

Maslenitsa is the most beloved folk holiday in Russia

According to folk legends, people who celebrated Maslenitsa poorly lived poorly throughout the next year. That is why each family tried to prepare as many hearty dishes as possible, invite guests, and organize a truly grandiose celebration. Often such feasts ended in the morning with dancing and singing. To this day, many are sure that Maslenitsa should turn into unbridled fun, when the tables are full of food and everyone rejoices at the arrival of spring.

Of course, Maslenitsa is not only about lots of delicious food and drinks. This is a whole week of fun, dancing, horseback riding and sledding. It is a national holiday, because during this week everyone had fun, walked, sang and greeted guests. Every day turned into a real feast, as each housewife tried to prepare as many dishes as possible and bake pancakes. At this time, no one thought about work or household chores, because everyone was enjoying the wild fun, and unmarried girls were guessing about their betrothed. During joint skating, each of them tried to attract the attention of the guys and their parents, since in those days the choice of the future chosen one or chosen one largely depended on the decision of the father and mother.

Also on Maslenitsa, they did not forget about the newlyweds who got married last year. According to folk customs, they were rolled in the snow, rolled down the mountains, and relatives and friends came to visit almost every day. On the last day of the celebration, which is also called “Forgiveness Sunday,” everyone asked for forgiveness from each other, and also forgave the grievances received from enemies or acquaintances.

Pancakes: where did the tradition of baking pancakes come from?

Pancakes are loved by children and adults; they are eaten not only during Maslenitsa, but during this week this dish has a special meaning. At all times, housewives competed in making pancakes, because each of them had their own recipe. It was kept and passed on from generation to generation. Most often, wheat, oatmeal and corn flour, pieces of pumpkin and apples, and plums were used to prepare this main holiday dish. Initially, the round shape of pancakes was chosen by the pagans in order to attract spring and please the god Yarilo. It was he who was one of the most revered in their religion.

The first finished pancake was always given to the poor, since they baked it in memory of all the dead. Pancakes were eaten all day and often combined with other dishes. They were served with sour cream, jam or eggs, and wealthy families could afford to eat pancakes with caviar.

According to custom, pancakes were baked every day, since they were the main decoration of the festive table. Along with pancakes, housewives also prepared honey sbitni and gingerbread cookies, brewed beer and brewed aromatic tea. The samovar always remained hot, since during this week it was customary to organize not only a family feast, but also often invite guests and participate in national festivities.

Construction of a Maslenitsa scarecrow, Parsley and buffoons

During the festivities, men often staged funny fights, and women and children built a Maslenitsa effigy out of straw. Many families even took him on a sleigh ride, accompanying this action with singing and dancing. The effigy was dressed in old women's clothes, had fun with it, and after the celebration was over, it was burned at the stake, which symbolized the passing of winter.

Burning effigy and most other Maslenitsa traditions are aimed at quickly driving away winter and welcoming the long-awaited spring. This can also be said about the performances organized by the buffoons on the second day of the celebration. Of course, each of them tried to make the audience laugh, but Petrushka did it best. He was the main character of puppet theaters throughout the country, loved by both adults and children. Many passers-by took part in such performances, and some families held small comedy concerts in their homes.

Along with the buffoons, trained bears could often be seen on the streets. The animals tried to show girls putting on makeup in front of a mirror or baking the main Maslenitsa treat - pancakes. In some Russian cities this tradition has been preserved to this day.

There are many different holidays celebrated in Russia.
But there is one that we inherited from our ancestors and is especially loved - this is Maslenitsa!

The holiday in question is unusual and multifaceted. For some, this is a time of repentance and reconciliation, while for others it is a whole week of riotous fun. This contradiction has its roots deep in the history of Rus'.

The ancestor of modern Maslenitsa was the ancient Slavic pagan Komoeditsa. Until the 16th century, Rus' celebrated the sacred Day of the Vernal Equinox, which was considered the beginning of the New Year according to the solar calendar of the ancient Slavs. And the celebration of Komoeditsa began a week before the vernal equinox and lasted a week after.

The Slavs worshiped nature and revered the Sun as a deity that gives vitality to all living things. Therefore, on the spring holiday of Komoeditsa, it was customary to bake flat cakes, symbolizing the sun - round, yellow and hot. Subsequently, namely from the 9th century, when leavened dough appeared, the flatbreads took the form of modern pancakes.

At the same time, people made sacrifices to the sacred beast revered by the Slavs - the bear. Pancakes were presented as a gift to the “bear” god – or in ancient Slavic Whom – which is where the saying “the first pancake comes to the comas”, that is, to the bears.

People, surrounded by relatives of their kind, spent two weeks of the holiday in merry games, feasts, competitions and pagan rituals.

All these actions had deep meaning and significance. After an often half-starved winter, the Slavs needed to prepare and gain strength for the upcoming work, which would continue continuously from sunrise to sunset throughout the warm season.

Currently, there is very little information about how Komoeditsa was celebrated, but historians have tried to restore some of the rituals and customs of that time.

The holiday began with a visit to the sanctuary, near which grain was scattered, attracting birds symbolizing deceased ancestors. The Slavs believed that in this way the whole clan would unite at the sacred spring festival.

At this time, the women set the tables, filling them with dishes and drinks prepared from carefully preserved food from winter stocks. Having divided all the food, a fifth of it was carried to the Holy Fire, lit in an open place, and the altar was covered. Near the fire they placed a straw effigy on a pole, called Madder, while saying:

“Come to us,
To the wide yard:
Ride in the mountains
Roll in pancakes
Make fun of your heart.
Red beauty, blond braid,
Thirty brothers sister,
Forty grandmothers granddaughter,
Three mothers, daughter, Kvetochka,
Berry, quail.”

Having tasted the first pancakes, they started a round dance, which was certainly led according to the movement of the sun. Afterwards, everyone began to jump over the fire, thereby cleansing themselves of evil spirits, and then washed themselves with melt water, which imparted beauty and strength. At the same time, newlywed couples who got married within a year were glorified, and single ones were marked with a rope. To remove the rope, it was necessary to make a choice right there or buy off a treat for the holiday table.

Another ritual on Komoeditsa was associated with the prediction of spring weather.

A specially prepared drink, surya made from charmed milk with magical herbs added to it, was poured into the bowl. With the first cup, filled to the brim with the sacred drink, the priestess Marena walked to the altar, where the priestess of the fruitful goddess Zhiva was waiting for her, who had to knock the cup out of her hands so that not a drop would spill on the altar. Otherwise, the Slavs would face a cold and stormy spring.

“Go away, Winter is cold!
Come, Summer is hot!
With difficult times,
With flowers, with grass!

Then, glorifying God Yarilo and throwing old things into the fire, they burned Madder’s effigy, saying: “Madder is tanned, the whole world is tired of it!”

After burning the effigy, the youth performed a ceremony to awaken the bear. The man dressed in bear skin lay in a makeshift den, and girls and boys, trying to “wake him up”, threw snowballs and twigs. The “bear” woke up only after the most beautiful girl came up to him and sat on his back. Then the mummer stood up and, pretending to awaken the bear, danced for the amusement of the people.

Having had some fun, they began the feast. Afterwards, festive fun, games and fist fights began. The day ended and, saying goodbye, the Slavs treated each other with gifts, “snacks,” bowing and asking forgiveness for unexpected offenses.

Komoeditsa took place in honoring and observing ancient traditions, glorifying the Slavic family and its customs.

With the adoption of Christianity, the Orthodox Church tries to abolish all pagan manifestations of the Slavs, including holidays. Therefore, since the 16th century, a church holiday was introduced in Rus' Cheese week or Meat-eater which precedes Lent. At this time, it was necessary, gradually abandoning temptations, to prepare one’s soul and body for repentance, forgiving offenses and reconciling with family and friends.

Even in the ancient times of Christianity, Cheese Week received a rite of worship, as written by Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, who lived in solitude in the 4th century. This ancient decree of the Church in the 7th century was even more firmly established and spread when the Byzantine king Heraclius, exhausted by a long war with the Persians, made a promise to God, after the successful end of the war, to prohibit the consumption of meat before the Great Forty-day Lent.

The name “Cheese Week” comes from the fact that, as a preparatory stage for the upcoming abstinence, it is forbidden to eat meat during the week, but cheese, eggs and dairy products are still allowed.

On Wednesday and Friday of Cheese Week, divine services are held with prayer and the usual bows, and on Saturday in the church they remember the saints who have shone through fasting and fervent prayer vigil and celebrate the Council of All Reverend Fathers.

The Sunday of the week is called “Forgiveness Sunday,” and the Liturgy on this day says that in order to receive forgiveness from God, we ourselves must forgive our neighbors.

Cheese Week was popularly called Maslenitsa, since during this period dairy products, including butter, were allowed.

Combining pagan and Christian traditions, folk Maslenitsa has long been celebrated in Rus' on a grand scale, as evidenced by the royal decree of the 18th century, in which Peter I prescribed a secular celebration in the image of foreign carnivals.

Tsar Peter, who loved riotous, youthful fun, celebrated Maslenitsa on a truly royal scale. This was noticed at one time by the son of a general in the Russian service, Friedrich Berchholtz, known for his detailed diary about his stay in Russia. He wrote about an unusual procession organized by the Russian Tsar, consisting of ships of the Russian fleet placed on horse-drawn sleighs:

“His Majesty was having fun like a king. Not having the opportunity here in Moscow to rush through the waters as much as in St. Petersburg and, despite the winter, he, however, with his small, dexterous boatswains, on the dry route, did all the maneuvers possible only at sea. When we were sailing with the wind, he spread all the sails, which of course helped the 15 horses pulling the ship a lot.”

Along with fun, festivities and games, folk Maslenitsa also has a ritual side. Each day of the holiday week had its own name and purpose.

Meat Sunday is the last Sunday before Maslenitsa, when people went to visit friends and relatives, invited them to their place for Maslenitsa and finished eating meat dishes.

Monday: "meeting"
The matchmakers met and agreed to hold the holiday together. On this day, young daughters-in-law visited their parents. At a pre-selected place for festivities, ice slides, booths, and snow forts were built. The housewives began baking pancakes, giving the first to the tramps to commemorate the dead. And the youth made a symbol of the holiday from straw and old clothes - a scarecrow of Maslenitsa.

Tuesday: “flirt”
This day was dedicated to the show. It was believed that if you marry a bride on Maslenitsa, then the wedding will affect Krasnaya Gorka. Young people looked at each other during celebrations, fun games and slides, and then sent matchmakers to their betrothed’s house.

Wednesday: "gourmet"
This day was dedicated to the mother-in-law, who, having prepared pancakes, was waiting for her son-in-law to visit and in every possible way showed him her affection.

Thursday: "revelry"
The day when celebrations unfolded in full swing, all kinds of housework stopped and various competitions were organized. Entertainment alternated with rich feasts, and the most important event was the assault on the snowy town.

Friday: "mother-in-law's party"
On this day, the mother-in-law and her friends hurried to visit her son-in-law. The daughter prepared the treat and baked pancakes, and the son-in-law had to please the mother-in-law and show the guests his respect for the mother-in-law and her family.

Saturday: “Sister-in-Law Gatherings”
The holiday took place in the house of a young daughter-in-law, who invited her sisters-in-law or other relatives of her husband to the table for pancakes. On this day, the sister-in-law was presented with a gift from the daughter-in-law's relatives.

Sunday: “seeing off”
The last day of Maslenitsa is popularly called “Forgiveness Sunday” or “The Day of Kissing”. On this day, they visit the graves of deceased relatives and ask for forgiveness for all the insults caused during the year. In the evening, the house was cleaned, the effigy of Maslenitsa and the remains of the holiday food were solemnly burned.

The Maslenitsa “funeral” ritual began with the lighting of a sacred fire into which funeral food was thrown. Then the effigy of Maslenitsa was carried on a pole throughout the village or carried on a sleigh, which was then burned along with the effigy, and the ashes were sprinkled on the fields. The belief was that the attributes of the holiday burned to the ground would bring a good harvest.

Maslenitsa is an ancient and bright holiday in Russia, uniting, thanks to forgiveness of neighbors and help to the suffering, those who spend these days preparing for Lent, and those who have fun and participate in mass festivities.

The history of Maslenitsa in Rus'

I will not talk about Maslenitsa, which is celebrated now, a lot of different information has been written about this, but I want to introduce you to the real Maslenitsa, which our Slavic ancestors celebrated even before the Christianization of Rus'. Of course, only fragments of information about those times remain, but even what is available allows us to take a different look at our favorite holiday and helps us understand its essence.

Maslenitsa is a very ancient Slavic holiday, kind, cheerful and very bright. Researchers suggest that this holiday appeared 7-8 thousand years ago.

The main point of this holiday is the welcoming of the coming spring.
This is a phenomenon on an earthly scale. All nature wakes up after winter, warm days come, the night decreases and the day increases. The world around us is being updated. I'm sure many people feel an emotional and physical uplift in the spring. Many centuries ago, Maslenitsa was considered one of the main annual holidays. It is associated with natural and astronomical phenomena. Our Slavic ancestors lived according to the sun and kept a solar calendar, so all holidays were tied to it. Thus, Maslenitsa has always been celebrated on the day of the spring equinox. On this day, the night is equal in length to the day. On this day, it was believed that the light forces (summer and warmth) defeated the dark forces (winter and cold), since the next day the day became longer than the night. It was also believed that it was on this day that Chernobog transferred the world axis to Svarog. The goddess of winter, death and justice - Mara leaves our world and other gods come in her place - Dazhbog, Tarkh, Tara. Together with the bright gods, the souls of our ancestors fly to earth on bird wings from bright Iriy.

Rituals for Maslenitsa

In the morning the people hurried to their temples. At the same time scattering grain at crossroads. It was poured for the dark forces that flew to earth in the form of magpies, so that they would not interfere with the celebration of the resurrection of Mother Earth. The lights were lit on the temples and the glorification of native gods, ancestors and all Slavic families began.

Girls sing chants calling for Spring. Then they meet her at the edge of the forest and invite her to a celebration where her celebration begins.

During the celebration of Maslenitsa, with the help of ritual actions, the full power of the awakening earth and world was shown. There are valiant competitions, fist fights, jumping over a fire, dancing in circles and making (bloodless) sacrifices to the gods. Fist fights symbolized the struggle between light and darkness, and with the help of such games, people felt their involvement in the events taking place.

Here is another ritual game - Fortress. A fortress was built from snow. There were girls hiding inside it, representing Winter. The guys representing Spring had to get inside. The girls threw snow and snowballs at the attackers, preventing them from getting inside. The guys' victory meant that the forces of Spring had won.

Another ritual action was climbing the Maslenitsa pillar. It symbolized the world tree in whose branches the Light Iriy is located and getting there is not even easy.

Jumping over a fire was a symbol of purification. Round dances and sacrifices or services allowed people to touch the world of gods and ancestors who lived in distant times. Maslenitsa food - pancakes, a prototype of the Sun.
By eating a Maslenitsa pancake, a person filled both body and soul with the energy of the sun. Each ritual action had a certain meaning, each word had its own image. During the celebration there was never unbridled revelry, gorging on pancakes and other activities that distinguish today's celebration or the celebration after Christianization. Also, the Slavs did not burn their gods, even if they belonged to dark forces. They also respected these forces. Not a single similar case was found in ancient sources. The burning of effigy came much later, during the time of Christianization.

Komoeditsa

Komoeditsa is one of the names of the Slavic holiday. It is connected with the fact that at this time one of the animals revered by the Slavs, the owner of the forest, the bear, wakes up. He is treated to special ritual breads - koma. They are baked from several types of flour and treated to the bear, leaving comas on the stumps. It is believed that then the owner of the forest will be favorable to the beekeepers and will not slaughter livestock.

The first pancake was also always given to the comas. We all know the saying “The first pancake is lumpy.” But not everyone knows that this is part of the old Russian proverb “The first pancake is for the people, the second pancake is for acquaintances, the third pancake is for distant relatives, and the fourth pancake is for me.” As you can see, there is no word “lump” here, but the word “lump”. Among the Slavs, the bear was revered as the ancestor, patron of people, and also as a hypostasis of the god Veles.

The comas were always baked by the eldest woman in the family. They were carried into the forest during the so-called “wake-up calls.” After the bear was woken up, games and competitions began, and the holiday itself began.

You can write a lot more about the celebration of Maslenitsa and Komoeditsa, but one article is too small for such a story. Nevertheless, I really hope that after reading it you have a little more information about such an ancient Slavic holiday as Maslenitsa. I will be glad to see your comments.

Our ancestors kept their chronology in accordance with the ancient solar calendar. The movement of the Earth relative to the Sun and the natural solar cycle were reflected in the annually repeated four astronomically important days, which were figuratively represented in the form of four hypostases of the sun. Thus, 21 March - on the day of the vernal equinox- when the sun moved from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere and the complete awakening of nature and renewal began, our ancestors celebrated the onset of a new summer or a new calendar year.

Peoples who lived in complete harmony with the surrounding world, nature, natural phenomena, very organically felt natural life cycles and were completely consistent with them. It was natural and was perceived as a necessity. That is why the Maslenitsa holiday is, in fact, a celebration of the New Year. It was celebrated very cheerfully, brightly, with wonderful treats, folk festivities and round dances. But Maslenitsa pancakes were not just one of the festive treats, but also a symbol reflecting sacred knowledge about the laws of the universe and the spiritual nature of man.

Round, ruddy, hot, they symbolized the increasingly flaring spring sun. The sun was a symbol of God - warming, nourishing, giving life-giving fire. And the circle was one of the most ancient symbols and pointed to the Spiritual world.

The very name of the holiday, Maslenitsa, comes from the word oil - an ancient Slavic word "smeared" . At this time, cows were calving in the villages, there was already plenty of milk and butter. That is why, after a harsh winter (when food had to be spent sparingly and carefully), the time came for a more plentiful and varied diet, thanks to the first greens and dairy products. This is reflected in the modern version of the second name of Maslenitsa week, it is called "cheese or cheese week" .

Maslenitsa was also called Komoeditsa. This name came to us from the northern peoples, who believed that the spirits of their ancestors lived in dense impenetrable forests.

The image of spirits was considered to be bears, which were revered and called Komami. By the way, this is where the saying comes from: “The first pancake is KomAm...” , - which meant an offering, a gift, treating one’s ancestors to the very first pancake. And this is not at all what the modern version means - “failure, lack of success, the beginning of a business “lump, lump.”

Only in the 17th century, by decree of Peter 1, Maslenitsa began to be celebrated, changing its date and linking it to Christian holidays. After all, it was impossible to completely destroy the deep meaning of this day in the memory of the people. Thus, not only the date was changed, but also the sacred meaning of the holiday itself. And we now celebrate the onset of the New Year on December 31, in the midst of a harsh winter and in the darkest time of the year, when the goddess of Sleep and Death Morena comes into her own. By the way, it was her effigy that was burned at the Maslenitsa bonfire, thereby symbolizing cleansing and liberation for a new life cycle. Effigy of Morena made from rags and old straw and symbolically escorted through the rite of liberation by fire. And fire in this case was also a symbol - a prototype of earthly, material fire. heavenly fire, solar. It is interesting that in some countries, for example in Spain, they still consider the date of the arrival of winter to be December 21, and the beginning of spring to be March 21.

The most important and unchanging meaning of Maslenitsa still cannot be erased from the minds of inquisitive and perspicacious people. After all, in fact, this holiday was a symbol of the most important victory of every person - the victory of the FORCES of LIGHT over the forces of darkness. It was a day when everyone celebrated the most important thing - their Spiritual rebirth and liberation. When everyone knew - GOOD ALWAYS WINS!

And even though today the day of a wonderful holiday has been changed and tied in dates to a completely different meaning, this cannot in any way prevent you and me from remembering that everything material is transitory, perishable and illusory, and Spiritual and Soul powers are given to us for transformation and rebirth. So – happy Maslenitsa to you!

Svetlana Samarets,
participant of the ALLATRA International Public Movement

Winter is a test for every person: short daylight hours, cold winds, snow, slush. Therefore, the onset of spring is a long-awaited event that certainly needs to be celebrated. Previously, people believed that the young Spring was too weak to overcome the old, cunning Winter and that in order to help it drive away the cold, it was necessary to organize cheerful festivities. These festivities got their name because people tried to fertilize and “butter” the spring. On this day, the people praised Yarila, the deity of fertility and the sun. The deity was presented to the Russians in the form of a young man who died and was resurrected from year to year. Yarilo gave sunny spring warmth, which was the key to a bountiful harvest. The history of the origin of the Maslenitsa holiday contains many more interesting facts, which we will discuss below.

The history of the Maslenitsa holiday

A cheerful farewell to the winter cold, illuminated by the anticipation of approaching warmth and renewal of nature, has always been a reason for noisy festivities. On Maslenitsa, there was even a story of pancakes, which had a ritual meaning: hot, round, they were the personification of the sun, which was burning brighter, lengthening the daylight hours. Pancakes were also part of memorial rites, since before Maslenitsa there was “parents’ day”, when Russians worshiped the spirits of their ancestors.

There are several facts about Maslenitsa that every person who decides to celebrate this holiday should know:

1. Date of Maslenitsa. The traditional Maslenitsa holiday is celebrated for a whole week (sometimes three days). The start date of the celebration depends on the date. As a rule, Oil Week is celebrated in the last week before Lent.
2. Traditional rituals. For each day of the celebration, different rituals have been invented, which, in essence, boil down to matchmaking. The holiday begins on Monday and until Thursday families go to visit and treat friends with pancakes. Broad Maslenitsa starts on Thursday, young people jump over bonfires and organize noisy feasts. Sunday is the climax of the celebration. Relatives ask for forgiveness for the offenses caused, go to confession in church.
3. Church attitude to the holiday. In the Orthodox Church, Oil Week is called Cheese Week. These days there is a “release of meat”, that is, Orthodox Christians can taste animal products for the last time before Lent. During this period, you need to try to reconcile with your loved ones, devote time to communicating with friends and relatives.

According to historians, the ritual side of this holiday includes traditions that relate to a milestone time (spring equinox) and the cult of ancestors (veneration of the dead). In ancient times, Maslenitsa was dedicated to stimulating fertility and was the key to a rich harvest. Today, Pancake Week is more of an echo of the past and another reason for fun.

History and traditions of Maslenitsa

Over the course of seven days, housewives try to bake as many pancakes as possible, which represent the sun and the coming spring. In addition, there are other rituals dedicated to the worship of the sun. At all times, various ritual rites based on the magic of the circle were performed. The young men prepared the sleigh, harnessed the horses and drove around the village in a circle, and the girls decorated a wooden wheel on a pole with colored ribbons and walked with it through the streets.

The main character of the celebration was, of course, Maslenitsa, represented in effigy. It was solemnly burned on the last day of Oil Week, while singing solemn songs and inviting spring. Historians believe that the effigy represents a deity who, by dying, imparts fertility to the earth.