I was looking up Russian holiday traditions over holiday
break when I stumbled upon a holiday I had never heard of before called
Maslenitsa. Apparently it’s an extremely old holiday celebrated by many
Russians and people of Slavic decent where they celebrate the end of winter and
the beginning of spring. Like Christmas, Maslenitsa started as a pagan holiday
and was later adjusted to be Christian holiday, although the pagan customs
still exist. The pagan part celebrated the vernal equinox and the coming of
spring, while the Christian part celebrates the last week before lent and
focuses enjoying everything that has to be given up during lent, much like in
Mardi gras. The celebrations go on for a whole week with different festivities
on each day. It is customary to make lots of blini, or pancakes, and to give them to
friends and family.
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