Russian Holidays - Maslenitsa – Масленница2021

Maslenitsa is one of the biggest and most cheerful Russian and Slavic holidays. This holiday is celebrated by Russians and nearby Slavic countries for one week . Maslenitsa is a folk holiday with non-religious origins, rather it holds mythological elements related to Idolatry in olden Russia. People back then believed that after a long struggle between Spring and Winter, eventually Spring triumphs and spreads sunlight over the earth. Similar to Persian Nowruz holiday, Maslenitsa was celebrated the end of cold winter and greets spring and the warmth it brings. The symbol of this holiday is also the same as the one in Mithraism – the Sun. By Christianity and religious holidays gaining more popularity, the date of this holidays changed to the last week before the Great Lent which is held for 40 days. Maslenitsa is also known as the “cheese week” since during the days of fasting eating any milk, cheese and meat are forbidden by the orthodox church. So people seek to enjoy as many foods, cakes and cheese as possib