Due to the country’s proximity to the equator, Sri Lankans face only two seasons, the rainy season and the dry season, but in countries close to the North or South Poles, there are four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In many countries, a variety of festivals are held to mark the end of the harsh summer season and the beginning of spring.
The traditional spring festival of the East Slavs (a group of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians) is called ‘Maslenitsa’. Celebrated throughout a week and it is also known as ‘Pancake Week’ and ‘Butter Week’. This article is about the Russians’ Pancake Week.
Slavic mythology
‘Maslenitsa’, which was later recognised as a traditional village festival by the Russian Orthodox Church, began as a pagan tradition around the 2nd century AD. According to Slavic mythology, it was a festival of the sun at the end of the winter for a god named Volos. However, according to Christian tradition, this is considered to be the last week before the beginning of the ‘Great Lent’.
The ‘Maslenitsa’ Festival is held from February 12 to 18 each year. During this time, orthodox Christians do not eat meat, and it is the last week before Easter, when they are allowed to eat eggs, milk, cheese, and other dairy foods. This rule also led to the period being called ‘Pancake Week’ or ‘Butter Week’.
In Russia, butter is called ‘maslo’. Pancakes made of butter, milk, eggs and flour are considered to be the staple food at the ‘Maslenitsa’ Festival.
According to legend, the sun is symbolised by pancakes that are baked until they turn golden brown and then served. The Russians believe that eating pancakes gives the body the energy and warmth it needs. In the past, buckwheat wheat was used in the preparation of pancakes to give them a sun-red color.
Another belief of the Russians is that the round-shaped objects protect people from evil. As a result, pancakes have become a staple of ‘Maslenitsa’ celebrations. Every day of the festival pancakes are made to be shared with relatives and friends and served with mushrooms, jam, honey or butter.
High pole
As mentioned earlier, each day of the week-long festival is dedicated to a variety of rituals. Accordingly, Mondays are usually spent building icebergs and creating a particular type of dolls using straw and old clothes. The doll is then placed on a high pole and people then dance in a circle around it. This dance is called ‘khorovod’. Also, pancakes cooked on Mondays are usually given to needy people as a tribute to their dead relatives.
Tuesday is considered to be the most relaxed and playful day of the week. On that day, small children spend time sliding over the icebergs created the day before, and there are also puppet shows featuring the traditional Russian puppet, Petrushka. Men are allowed to kiss any woman walking down the street on that day.
Wednesday is set aside for the son-in-law to visit his wife’s house and enjoy his mother-in-law’s pancakes. Pancakes prepared that day are sweeter than other days and the best wheat, barley or oatmeal is used to prepare them. At the end of the pancake meal, a song is sung to thank the mother-in-law.
The festival kicks off on Thursday. From that day on, Russians are not allowed to go to work until the end of the week. Traditionally, fist/ hand fighting is practised mostly on Thursdays. In addition, the doll made before is placed in a snowmobile and carried from house to house, with loud singing. The son-in-law, who received the mother-in-law’s care on Wednesday, expresses his gratitude to his mother-in-law on Friday.
On that day the mother-in-law and all her relatives are invited to dinner at the son-in-law’s house. The son-in-law does all the work related to it and send a delegation to fetch the mother-in-law. It is believed that the greater the number of delegates, the greater the respect given to the mother-in-law.
What happens on Saturday is that the women hold a banquet for their brothers’ wives. The purpose is to improve the relationship between the siblings and to assure the brother’s wife that she is a member of the husband’s family and not an outsider. Also, what is being done on Sunday is to apologise for the mistakes they have made in the past year.
Gifts are also given during the apology and a towel is considered to be the most honourable gift a man can get. The highest gift a woman can get is a bar of soap.