Spring festival "Maslenitsa"

Welcome spring and send off winter, experience the Russian traditional festival - "Maslenitsa"!

Maslenitsa is a Russian national festival, also known as the "Winter Vacation Festival", which annually begins eight weeks before Orthodox Easter. The festival goes on for a whole week. On the last day of the festival, a big celebration is held in the fresh air. Adults and children have fun, play, sing folk songs and eat pancakes. Pancakes are a symbol of Maslenitsa, because they look like the sun.

I also tried Russian pancakes. They go well with sweet fillings: honey, jam, and sour cream. I liked it very much. I also tried tea from the samovar. A samovar is an old teapot.

The most interesting tradition is the burning of the Maslenitsa doll. Russians make a huge doll out of wood and straw, paint it and dress it up like a woman. It is believed that the scarecrow carries all the evil and vicious deeds of the past year. And spring brings hope and good luck. On the last day of Maslenitsa, the scarecrow is burned. 

The festival is also a time of ancestor worship. People are praying for good weather and a good harvest in the coming year. There are also couples who decided to get married at the festival. Their marriage, in their opinion, will last a long time.

On Maslenitsa, people sing and dance together, relatives and friends gather together, and I really feel their happiness. For those of us who study abroad, we need to learn more about the culture and history of this country, participate in it, listen, watch and feel. It's very interesting!