The philologist told us what you should never do on Maslenitsa

It’s no secret that many holidays that we know today as Orthodox are based on a “Slavic foundation.” This is Trinity Summer, known as Semik or Green Christmastide, mermaid week with the night of Ivan Kupala. And Christmastide itself, and before Triglav, the winter solstice holiday. And, of course, Maslenitsa.

Everyone knows that pancakes on Maslenitsa are a symbol of the sun, and they were baked in worship of the god Yaril. However, this image, which has become entrenched in the mass consciousness, is, to put it mildly, incorrect. Like the bright Maslenitsa in a scarf and apron 5 meters high – this is exactly the giant effigy that people gathered to burn in the Moscow region this year for the sake of a record.

“Pancakes had nothing to do with the sun,” says philologist Afanasy Maltsev. – They have always been a ritual food among the Slavs, part of the funeral ceremony. Yarilo was not a sun god, but a locally revered deity in the north-west and among the Pomors, like Kostroma or Zevana (the goddess of hunting and forest animals among the Western Slavs), was a local idol, and not at all a sun deity common to the Slavs. The cult of Yarila was associated with the change of winter and summer, like the cult of Osiris, and the cult of fertility. Yarilo “became famous” because of Ostrovsky and subsequent incarnations of “The Snow Maiden”. This was the time of the heyday of pan-Slavism, a surge of interest in one’s “roots,” the heyday of everything neo-Russian, including armchair mythology. It is now widely known, for example, that Lelya-Polyel did not exist in the sources, “researchers” invented it.

And the heavenly gods, the rulers of the world of Rule, according to the beliefs of the Slavs, were: Svarog, the blacksmith god, “who created the earth and the sky,” from him the word “bungle” remains in the Russian language; the supreme god Perun, who controlled thunder and lightning, transformed into Elijah the Prophet; Dazhdbog (the giver of all blessings) and Khors. The latter, most likely, was the god of the sun – the same root words are not only “good”, but also “round dance”, which, as we know, is always round.

This does not mean that the Proto-Slavic peoples were not sun worshipers – they still were! At some holidays, and not only in Russia, you can still see a cart wheel, it is often carried on a pole and decorated with ribbons. This is an echo of the solar cult. Other traces of it can be seen on the frames of huts, on shirts and towels, and on utensils. There, the sun can be depicted in parts, halves or a whole disk, with straight or oblique rays, often twisted clockwise. These are all solar symbols. And they were placed on the house, on clothes, on various spinning wheels in order to protect them from unclean spirits, unpledged dead and, in general, from the afterlife of Navi.

Scientists believe that somewhere after the 15th century, when Christianity firmly established itself in Rus’, Maslenitsa began to be celebrated instead of the ancient Slavic holiday of farewell to winter. Most likely, it was also the New Year then.

Over time, the March tradition of celebrating Veles, or Volos Day, also mixed in here. Veles, a bestial god, a distant analogue of Bacchus, could turn into various animals, especially a bear: he was often depicted with the head of a bear. He was also the patron of daredevils, heroes and giants. Some researchers correlate the tradition of fist fights on Maslenitsa with the cult of Veles. Others see in this the features of the funeral feast of the ancient Slavs, the tradition of remembering the dead. They say that the blood shed in a frivolous battle is a symbolic payment to the world of the dead, a guarantee of the revival of life after the “dead” winter.

But, nevertheless, the main sacred meaning of the holiday is to let the long winter go away, taking with it hunger, death, and frost. In honor of this, they burned an effigy of Mary Morena, the Slavic deity of decay and dying. Morena, in the minds of the pagans, was depicted as two-faced – either a terrible old woman with long gray hair, or a long-haired young woman, personifying the bright, merciful face of death.

Therefore, if everything is done “correctly”, Maslenitsa should not be in a headscarf, but with disheveled “hair”. It’s also not worth making it too cheerful or colorful: the goddess of death may be angry at the brightness, and offended at the huge “her” stuffed animal. By the way, in the old days, all the ashes from the burning of Maslenitsa were poured onto the fields for a good harvest.

What else needs to be done in order to properly celebrate this day, from the point of view of ancient traditions? It is necessary to burn as many fires as possible – an open flame is the main symbol of divine Rule, the fire of creation. Therefore, if possible, it is better to bake pancakes and eat them in the fresh air. It was also believed that by laying fires, we summon the fiery Semaragls. And these are the spirits of fire, subordinate to Svarog, outwardly similar to griffins with dog heads. Semaragly melts snow, drives away frosts, brings warmth, joy and spring closer. It was believed that the fire bird Rarog, transformed from myths into fairy tales in the image of the Firebird, was made from the same “dough.” A mortal who saw such a bird could count on the fulfillment of his cherished desire.

Even on the pancake holiday, you need to have as much fun and noise as possible – let’s remember the riotous god Veles. Fun, especially on Broad Maslenitsa on Sunday, in villages used to spill out into entire Maslenitsa trains on several carts and carts. Relatives and relatives visited each other on such dashing “trains,” sometimes appearing on the doorstep unexpectedly. It was the duty of the owners to give water and food to all arriving guests from the heart, otherwise in the summer they would not see any offspring from the cattle, nor from the fields and gardens – a generous harvest.

On this holiday, which, in fact, was very similar to a carnival, they dressed in fur coats and zipuns inside out, put on masks of various animals, “wigs” made of linen “hair” and ribbons – so that evil spirits would not recognize or, on the contrary, take them for “theirs.” . Men put on women’s costumes and vice versa, and acted out scenes in this form. They simply shouted, sang and made noise for the same purpose – to drive away the “evil ones”, to protect themselves from pestilent winds and restless evil spirits.

Over time, the motive of “eating to satiety” was added to the holiday. Meat Week is behind us, Great Lent is ahead, the longest and most difficult period of abstinence from meat before Easter. A whole 48 days, which this year ends on May 4th.

As for the modern Maslenitsa “pancake menu,” our ancestors would have approved of it almost completely. All “cheese” products, and “cheese” was then called cottage cheese and sour cream, can be used. Most likely, the Slavs would also approve of caviar and meat. But not seafood – “sea reptiles” were considered the most unclean, dangerous products, and their consumption was strictly prohibited. And on a holiday, it would be considered sacrilege. So for those who want to “show off Morena” for real, it would be better to abstain from various shrimp pastes, squid fillings and even, alas, Kamchatka crabs. But eating fish is not prohibited.