Maslenitsa is a cheerful, bright folk festival, which has been celebrated in Russia since ancient times. Each day of the Shrovetide week is given a certain name, from which it follows that it is customary to do it on that day. For example, on Monday they meet Maslenitsa, arranging skating on ice slides, and it is believed that the more sleds are rolled, the better the harvest will grow. On Friday, the son-in-law comes to the mother-in-law "for pancakes," and Sunday is called Forgiven - before the strict Lent, one must purify one's soul and ask forgiveness from all.
The main purpose of the Maslenitsa is the expulsion of a long winter and the awakening of nature from a dream, and the main ritual is the burning of thatched Winter, rooted in pre-Christian Rus, being, in fact, a pagan rite. A symbol of the originally Russian holiday Carnival are, of course, ruddy pancakes with various lean stuffings: mushrooms, caviar , cabbage.
Celebration of Maslenitsa today
Today, as in former times, the celebration of Shrovetide in Russia is noisy, on a grand scale, with folk festivals and amusements. People go for a drive on sleigh, drive round dances, mold snowmen. As a rule, this is how the carnival is celebrated in most cities of Russia.
Well, in Moscow, rumored skomorokhov, peddlers with trays, selling Russian souvenirs, you can meet at every corner. Characters of favorite fairy tales will evict kids and adults. To the carnival in the center of the capital is erected a whole town of attractions. Contests of masters for baking pancakes are held here. And under the walls of the Kremlin, a competition is organized each year, who will collect the highest pile of pancakes.
In many places, active winter games are organized: the capture of a snow town, fisticuffs, riding on horses. The celebration of Maslenitsa is completed by burning the straw stuffed, and after that young people compete in jumping through the fire.
So, as the wide Maslenitsa is celebrated in Russia, it is not celebrated anywhere else.