2007 Belarus MASLENITSA Festivals and Rites 1oz Silver Antique Coin

Maslenitsa maybe the oldest surviving Slavic holiday. Quite unique in itself, the festival combines pagan and Orthodox traditions. Before Christianisation, Maslenitsa was known as a sun-festival, where people spend the week saying goodbye to the winter and welcoming the spring. Meanwhile, in Christianity Maslenitsa is the last opportunity to enjoy parties, music, and dancing as it is not appropriate during the Great Lent, which commences the week after.

Pancake, the symbol of the holiday, is the representation of both– the sun in the pagan tradition, and the last opportunity to enjoy butter, milk, and eggs before the Lent, as meat is already forbidden by the beginning of Maslenitsa. What makes Maslenitsa even more fun is that every day of the Maslenitsa week has a special meaning:

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