Maslenitsa - the beginning of cheese week

Every year since ancient Slavic times, Russians have celebrated the farewell to the Russian winter - Maslenitsa. This is a cheerful holiday loved by everyone, young and old, celebrated the whole week before Lent. The main traditional dishes for Maslenitsa are pancakes. Since pagan times, round hot pancakes have personified the spring sun, which, with the farewell of Winter, begins to shine brighter and warmer every day. Housewives bake all sorts of pancakes for Maslenitsa, with caviar, butter, meat, mushrooms, sweet, salty, sour, for every taste and color. Another important attribute of the holiday is, of course, the stuffed spring maiden, the Maslenitsa doll. It is believed that by setting fire to the Maslenitsa effigy, people call for spring and warmth. The blue smoke from a burning doll carries winter high into the sky, all troubles and diseases, problems, cleansing the earth of various misfortunes. Cheerful fun accompanied the oil week at all times, fist fights, troika rides, merry round dances, unbridled festivities until the morning. Even centuries later, after the adoption of Christianity in Rus', the cheerful pancake week survived all the persecution of pagan holidays, and is celebrated with pleasure to this day. As soon as it was not banned, kings, priests and even the Soviet government created obstacles for unbridled street festivities, however, Maslenitsa survived, no matter what. Each city has its own celebration traditions, its own rules for festivities. Somewhere, burning wheels are rolling down the mountain, representing the sun, somewhere, dashing troikas are organizing races, and somewhere, mothers-in-law are waiting for their sons-in-law for pancakes. They organize famous sleigh rides, sister-in-law get-togethers, fortune-telling, funny games, practical jokes, round dances, songs, and dances. Today there are not many cheerful folk holidays left, perhaps that is why Broad Maslenitsa finds a wide response in the hearts of people, the whole people.