How they burned winter on Shrovetide, treated the dead and other strange rituals that you won't see today

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When the word Shrovetide is pronounced, the majority have an association with a noisy holiday, sincere fun, festivities, dances and, of course, with delicious hot pancakes. It's all great, interesting, tasty. However, some of the customs of this folk festival today may look very strange. Read how the annoying winter was burned or drowned, why for many people in ancient times Maslenitsa could end in death and how the dead were treated.

Tired of winter? Burn it, rip it or drown it

On the Maslenitsa holiday, an effigy was carried around the villages, which symbolized the deity of Winter. He was eventually burned at a large Shrovetide fire. It was a symbolic act, if you decipher it: winter had to give way to spring, warmth. In the most ancient times, symbolic sacrifices were held during this holiday. To play the role of Maslenitsa, the mummers were called, during the ceremony they seemed to be killed, which also symbolized the farewell to winter and the appearance of spring. Later, a stuffed animal was used instead of mummers. It could be molded from snow, twisted from straw, or made from tree branches.

The scarecrow was made up, that is, they painted eyes and a mouth with the help of charcoal, and a carrot played the role of a nose. But the fate of such dolls was the same - they were burned. By the way, in some regions of Russia the symbol of Maslenitsa was not only burned, but could also be drowned in some body of water, thrown off a mountain, or simply torn apart. If it was customary to resort to the services of a person, he lay down in a trough or a coffin. His friend stood nearby, portrayed a priest and generously sprinkled the imaginary "deceased" with holy water.

So, the effigy of Winter was burned, and it was a cleansing rite that was supposed to save everyone living in the area from the influence of evil spirits. Often a ritual fire was made of old and unnecessary things, it could be a dried tub, a crumbling sleigh, dilapidated household utensils. Everyone wanted to cleanse themselves of trash at the expense of such "cremation". Seeing off, accompanied by laughter, funny jokes, songs, became a kind of guarantee of a well-fed and prosperous life over the next year.

By the way, similar ceremonies also existed in Europe. For example, in some provinces on Shrovetide, an effigy was made to look like a person who was caught in adultery. An artificial, but very recognizable double was brought to the traitor's dwelling and set on fire. At the same time, neighbors and spectators laughed, had fun, and hooted. What was it like for a lover of love affairs? Surely terribly unpleasant. Perhaps this was one of the ways to make society more moral, to show that cheating is very bad.

A fight with a bear, which was sometimes not conducted of good will

In ancient times, the rare Maslenitsa did without an impressive and dangerous fight with a bear. It seems how much courage it takes to take part in such a competition. But everything is much simpler: most often they did not participate in a dangerous fight at the behest of their own hearts. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, those who angered the Tsar were easily sent to a meeting with a furry sparring partner sitting in a cage or in a pit. The fate of the punished was unenviable, since the beast did not calm down until it tore him to death.

Some researchers believe that in ancient times the celebration of Maslenitsa was one of the components of a whole complex of religious events that were dedicated to the spring equinox. For those peoples who used the calendar of the Sun, a new year began on such a day. As for the bear, for the pagans it was a cult creature. He woke up after winter, feeling the coming of spring. Often the ancient Slavs burned a bear effigy on Maslenitsa.

Inviting the departed to the table and treating them

In some regions, it was customary to commemorate deceased relatives on the eve of Maslenitsa, namely on Saturday. It was called parental day. Pancakes baked for the dead were left in different places - on the shrine, on the roof or window. Sometimes they were laid out on the grave of the commemorated person.

And sometimes the deceased were even invited to the table. For example, in the Kaluga province it was customary to do this on parental Saturday, morning and evening. The dead were politely invited to have breakfast or dinner with everyone. If something remained from the evening meal, then the food was left on the table until morning. They said that the departed, hiding behind the darkness of the night, come out from behind the stove to properly refresh themselves. -Cleaning: how the "leaders" of the holiday rode naked in the cold, and some were smeared with red lead and drove around the village

After Maslenitsa, the time of Great Lent began. Therefore, during the holiday, rituals called "cleansing from the poor" were widely used. Since during Shrovetide, people walked with might and main, ate a lot, that is, gluttony. Some of the rituals were quite funny. For example, in the Arkhangelsk province, at the onset of the last day of the Maslenitsa week, old logs were carried around the village, on which a boat was installed. In it lay a man with a bare back, which was generously smeared with red lead paint. And in the area of the Tavda River it was even more fun: mummers were chosen to depict Maslenitsa and the Voyevoda, and on the last day they took off their clothes, stripped naked and began to imitate washing in the bathhouse in front of the festive crowd.

And in some localities, the chosen main person at the holiday could not only say a solemn speech, but also strip naked (this is on frosty days), start grimacing and even bare those parts of the body that in ordinary life people try not to show to others. So merrily, on the verge of a foul, they saw off Shrovetide.

And the scarecrow that is burned in anticipation of spring is just one of many. In world culture dolls are used very often in various rituals.