Maslenitsa

An ancient Slavic festival, Maslenitsa (Ма́сленица) is essentially a sun outing, which celebrates the imminent end of winter. While it doesn’t necessarily happen on the day of the Spring Equinox, it is a spring-welcoming Slavic mythology holiday, which also corresponds to the Western Christian Carnival. It occurs during the last week before Lent—that is, the seventh week before Paskha – Easter.

Maslenitsa originates from the word Ма́слo (butter), and is also known as Pancake Week. Maslenitsa has a dual ancestry – pagan and Christian – with their traditions tightly interwoven. For example, eating meat during Maslenitsa is not allowed by the Russian Orthodox Church, but since milk, cheese, and other dairy products are permitted, people make the traditional blinis – pancakes; their round yellow disks symbolize the sun, which is certainly a pagan observation. Historically, the holiday had its own mascot: Lady Maslenitsa (sometimes known as Kostroma), represented by a brightly dressed straw effigy. As a culmination of the week-long feast on Sunday evening, Lady Maslenitsa is given to the fire, and all the leftover blintzes are thrown into it as well – for a good reason: the ashes are buried in the snow to "fertilize the crops."

Maslenitsa is a fun holiday: people eat, drink, dance, play instruments, and engage in strength contests – all to welcome spring. Traditionally, the Russian Maslenitsa also included masquerades, snowball fights, sledding and lots of horse sleigh rides. Some regions and villages followed a certain schedule – each day had its designated activity: one day for sleigh-riding, another for the sons-in-law to visit their parents-in-law, another day for visiting the godparents, and so on.

During the Soviet era, Maslenitsa, like many other religious holidays, was not officially celebrated; however, everyone made blinis and pancakes and shared them with families and friends. After Perestroika, the outdoor festivities resumed, even though some people considered it an artificial restoration of a dead tradition. Lady Maslenitsa seems to have made its comeback – it was simply too much fun to miss.

Let The Festivities Begin

Photo by FaceMePLS

Last Sunday marked a day of celebrating around the world. In the Northern Hemisphere, spring arrived, and with it, festival season. It also happened to be Persian New Year, World Storytelling Day (an event the Novel Adventurers observe every day), and the original date of Earth Day from back in 1970 (it moved to April in more recent years). Some cultures celebrate the arrival of spring by planting their crops on the vernal equinox, as the Mayans once did centuries ago.

In Japan, Vernal Equinox Day is even a national holiday, though this year, it takes on a tragic significance, considering it’s the day the Japanese visit family graves and hold family reunions.

This time of year also holds religious significance for various faiths. The Jewish Passover falls on the first full moon day after the vernal equinox, as does the Christian observance of Easter.

Starting last Sunday, a cluster of festivities take place per the Hindu calendar, starting with Holi, the Hindu New Year, also known as the Festival of Colors. Depending on region, that event can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. It begins on the first full moon day at the end of the winter season and culminates on the last full moon day. In the days preceding the festival, followers are supposed to clean their houses, and on the night before the celebration day, some communities light a bonfire and gather around it to sing and dance. But the main event takes place on the vernal equinox, with a playful festival in which people throw colored powder and water on each other to celebrate. They also throw water-filled balloons. In some parts of India, people mix bhang (marijuana) in their drink and food. (Talk about spirited.)

Source: Victoria Albert Museum

According to Hindu folklore, the festival has its roots in an old mythological story, but Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the event in later times. (Above is a painting, circa 1788, of Radha, Krishna's beloved, celebrating Holi with the women in their village.)

The southern part of India, known as the Deccan region, celebrates Holi along with the rest of the country, but also observes another new year soon after it. Ugadi or Yugadi marks an epoch or an era and right now, we’re in the Kali Yuga (epoch), which marks the date when Lord Krishna left the world (midnight between February 17 and 18, in the year 3102 B.C.). That event is now observed on the first new moon day of the Spring Equinox.

This year, Ugadi falls on April 4, which happens to mark the beginning of yet another important Hindu festival, Navratri, which literally means nine nights. Navratri occurs four times a year, one for each season, but the most popular one occurs in the fall. All four are celebrated by worshipping devi, the divine goddess, in all her diverse forms and often with nine days of fasting, culminating in a prayer ceremony and a day of indulging in rich sweets and savories. Many Indian women consider Navratri their most important festival, because it’s the one that celebrates the many aspects of feminine divinity (among them, strength, fertility, wisdom, courage, and comfort). Young girls are often invited to be part of the prayer rituals, as they represent purity. And in a tribute to the changing season, some Hindus begin the observances by sprouting seeds.

Here's a short video, a three-minute ad, about how it feels to experience Holi, also known as the festival of color. (Not to give anything away, but it’s worth watching for the surprise ending).