Maslenitsa Holiday
Maslenitsa is an ancient Slavic holiday with numerous customs, which has come down to our days through the centuries. It is celebrated during the week before Lent. Maslenitsa is a farewell to winter and a meeting of spring, which brings revival in nature and solar warmth. As in the old days, this holiday is celebrated on a grand scale, with chants, dances and contests. The most popular amusements are: fist fights, round dances, eating pancakes for a while, sledding, climbing a pole for a prize, burning an effigy, bathing in ice holes. Blini are baked during Maslenitsa. Sunday is called "forgiven Sunday" or "forgiven day". On this day, everyone asks each other for forgiveness if they have offended with words or actions. And also on the last day of Shrovetide week, the ritual of seeing off Shrovetide with the obligatory burning of an effigy is necessarily carried out.
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