Today, the Russians celebrate their first day of spring. In that way a Russian is a little like an Oklahoma Sooner. They just can't wait to get past winter and begin their springtime celebrations.
Maslenitsa (Pancake week) is the only purely Russian Holiday that dates back to the pagan times. For seven days (February 23 to March 1) Moscow jingles with bells, sings with garmoshkas and glares with gaily-painted dresses. The people are letting the long-annoying winter out and the long-awaited spring in.
The counters in the Maslenitsa town are groaning with various dainties. There are the paunchy samovars with mellow tea, bunches of sweet-scented barankas, nuts and honey pies with different signs: "Whom I love - to those I give", "A present of the sweet-hart is the dearest". Salted foods, various fish, caviar - choose and eat anything however much you like!
But the essential elements, of course, are pancakes (blini). Pankacke is a symbol of sun. It is as round, gold and warm as the sun. Pancakes are served hot with either butter, or sour cream, or caviar, or mushrooms, or sturgeon - to any exquisite taste.
Where else can you take a horse-drawn sledge ride that will take your breath away? Or take a jaunty slip down an enormous ice slope? Or go round on a giant carousel? The Great Maslenitsa will reel you round in a dancing fairy-circle and your feet won't be able to keep still to the sprightly chastooshkas (gaily songs) and byword. Clowns and skomorokhs (histrions) will make you laugh to tears. The show goes on and on in the balagans (Punch-and-Judy shows) and theatres. And those who will not want to be simply a spectator can take part in the masquerade: to dress up beyond recognition or to muffle in a long fur coat and to drink a glass of vodka with a bear.
On the last day of the Great Maslenitsa the feasting and drinking ends up by burning down the scarecrow symbolizing winter thus saying goodbye to winter till the next year.
For the Russians Maslenitsa is like a carnival for the Italians, especially because the initial sense of festivals is the same: the Italian word "carnival" (carne-vale) means "farewell the beef!", and Maslenitsa that precedes the Great Lent, in old time was called "Myasopust" because it was forbidden to eat meat during this week.
The last day of Maslenitsa is called the Forgiveness Day. Everybody ask one another for forgiveness in order to redeem themselves from their sins before the Great Lent. They bow to one another and say, "God will forgive you". Maslenitsa is over and so is the winter giving way to the spring.
Everybody knows what the Russian Soul is! This is prowess, dare-devilry, and, of course, the famous Russian hospitality. Everybody is welcome to Moscow to see the Russian winter off!
Here is another take on the subject:
Shrovtide is an ancient Russian holiday which dates back to the 9th century. It begins a week before Shrove Monday, which is the last Monday before the 40-day fast period of Lent. Shrovetide is the most cheerful of all Russian holidays. Not to participate in this holiday means to live in poverty for the rest of the year.
Each day of Shrovetde has its own rituals. They are:
Monday: People set up stalls selling pancakes, toys and crafts. A Shrovetide dummy is dressed in a sarafan and seated on a sledge. The sledge goes along the treets, inviting people to join in and celebrate the festival.
Tuesday: People dress up in their best clothes and go out for toboganning and pancakes. Young men look for their future wives and people kiss, dance and flirt with each other.
Wednesday: Mother's-in-law invite their sons-in-laws to try delicious pancakes. The sons-in-law bring gifts and weet honey cakes.
Thursday: On this day there are more toboganning along with plenty of fun. People play at fistfighting and capturing snow fortresses. They go theater perofmrances, eat pancakes, drink and dance.
Friday: Sons-in-law invite their mothers-in-law to their homes for pancakes.
Saturday: Sisters-in-law recieve guests.
Sunday: The Shrovetide staw dummy is solemnly burnt as a symbol of life's victory over death. Ashes are scattered over the fields in order to have an excellent harvest in the autumn. In the evening, people forgive all offences so that everyone can meet the spring with a clear conscience.
Marina brought some wonderful pancakes to the office so that we could participate in their joyful celebration.
Acia, Marina and Lidia with the pancakes and home canned cherries from Marina's dacha.
The beautiful set table!
A culinary delight!!
On Saturday, we went to the Polytechnical Musuem of Science, just down the street from the old KGB headquarters, about 1/2 mile east of the Red Square. We had read that the displays were not too impressive, so our expectations were rather low. One article indicated that it would probably be closed by the summer. However, we thought it was one of the best museums that we have been too. It was certainly modest, but the displays of old cars, radios, tv's, satellites, chemistry, steam engines, etc. were quite interesting. We spent about 3 1/2 hours there!! Later, we stopped by a McDonalds for lunch, before heading for the Christ the Redeemer Church, which is on the other side of Red Square. On our way we saw the festivities associated with Maslenitsa, just on the southern end of Red Square, below St. Basils. There were many shops and bilinis for all. We didn't go in, because we were on our way to the cathedral and there was a very long line to get inside.
The cathedral was quite impressive, but kind of sad, since it really used more for show than for worship. The original Cathedral of Christ the Savior was built over 44 years to celebrate the 1812 victory over Napoleon. It was completed in 1883. Stalin had the church destroyed in 1931, but it was rebuilt using mostly private funds in 1999. The new church is a replica of the original. Note that it took 44 years the first time and only 4 years the second to complete the church! Isn't modern technology impressive.
One interesting tidbit is that it took three attempts to blow up the church in 1931. Stalin planned to build a huge Palace of the Soviets on the cleared land, but engineers determined that the land was too boggy. In the 60 years intervening, the space was used for a variety of things, including a year-round swimming pool!
Rendering of the Palace of the Soviets. This rendering is in basement museum of the Cathedral. I didn't take my camera today, but I will get some photos from the Irelands to post later.
