a holiday in Russia can be called Maslenitsa. This holiday is considered an echo of pre-Christian times, when the Slavs were still pagans.
In olden times Maslenitsa was considered a holiday of commemoration of the dead. So the burning of the Shrovetide is her funeral, and pancakes - are memorial treats. But time passed, and the Russian people, greedy for fun and rest, turned the sad holiday into a raging carnival. But there was a tradition to bake pancakes-round, yellow and hot as the sun, and to it were added riding on horse sledges and sleighs from the icy mountains, fisticuffs, mother-in-law gatherings. The rituals of Maslenitsa are very unusual and interesting, as they combine the completion of the winter holiday rituals and the opening of a new spring period of holidays and rituals, which were to contribute to obtaining a rich harvest.
Maslenitsa is celebrated the whole week before lent. And every day of Pancake week was dedicated to special rituals.
