# Maslenitsa

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Slavic folk and Christian holiday

Maslenitsa Maslenitsa, Boris Kustodiev, 1919 (Isaak Brodsky Museum, St. Petersburg) Also called Butter Week, Crepe week, Cheesefare Week, Syropust, Kolodiya, Masnytsia Observed by Eastern Slavs Mostly Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian diaspora communities Type Ethnic Significance Seeing off winter, last week before Great Lent Celebrations Making blini (crepes), making visits, sleigh rides, dressing up, bonfires, snowball fights, the capture of the Snow Fortress, burning of the Maslenitsa Scarecrow In Ukraine and Belarus: eating varenyky with cottage cheese 2025 date 24 February to 2 March 2026 date 16 February to 22 February Duration 7 days Frequency Annual Related to Mardi Gras

**Maslenitsa** ([Belarusian](/source/Belarusian_language): Масленіца; [Russian](/source/Russian_language): Мaсленица [\[ˈmas⁽ʲ⁾lʲɪnʲɪt͡sə\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Russian); [Rusyn](/source/Rusyn_language): Пущаня; [Ukrainian](/source/Ukrainian_language): Масниця), also known as **Butter Lady**, **Butter Week**, **Crepe week**, or **Cheesefare Week**, is an [Eastern Slavic](/source/East_Slavs) religious and folk holiday which has retained a number of elements of [Slavic mythology](/source/Slavic_mythology) in its ritual. It is celebrated during the last week before [Great Lent](/source/Great_Lent); that is, the eighth week before [Eastern Orthodox](/source/Eastern_Orthodox_Church) [Pascha](/source/Easter), equivalent to the West's [Sexagesima](/source/Sexagesima).

The date of Maslenitsa changes every year, depending on the date of the celebration of Easter. It corresponds to the [Western Christian](/source/Western_Christianity) [Carnival](/source/Carnival), except that Orthodox Lent begins on a [Monday](/source/Clean_Monday) instead of a [Wednesday](/source/Ash_Wednesday), and the Orthodox [date of Easter](/source/Easter#Date) can differ greatly from the Western Christian date.

The traditional attributes of the Maslenitsa celebration are the Maslenitsa [effigy](/source/Effigy), sleigh rides, and festivities. Russians bake [blini](/source/Blini) and [flatbread](/source/Flatbread), while Belarusians and Ukrainians cook [pierogi](/source/Pierogi) and [syrniki](/source/Syrniki).

## Traditions

According to archeological evidence from the 2nd century AD, Maslenitsa may be the oldest surviving Slavic holiday.[1] In the [Christian](/source/Christianity) tradition, Maslenitsa is the last week before the onset of [Great Lent](/source/Great_Lent).[2]

During the week of Maslenitsa, work is already forbidden to [Orthodox Christians](/source/Eastern_Orthodox_Church), and it is the last week during which work is permitted, leading to its name of "work free week" or "Freedom week".

Since Lent excludes working, parties, secular music, dancing and other distractions from spiritual life, Maslenitsa represents the last chance to take part in social activities that are not appropriate during the more prayerful, sober and introspective Lenten season.[1]

In Ukraine Maslenitsa week was also called Babskyi Tyzhden (Women's Week) or Kolodiy. During this week, men humorously followed women’s wishes. Married women gathered to "birth," "baptize," and "bury" a wooden log (koloda) throughout the week, symbolizing marriage and family traditions. By the end of the week, unmarried men and women had logs tied to their legs as a playful punishment for not marrying before Maslenitsa. This tradition highlighted the importance of marriage in Ukrainian culture. Though this tradition is no longer widely practiced, Kolodiy still remains a symbolic reminder of festive Slavic customs and the value of strong family bonds.[3]

In some regions, each day of Maslenitsa had its traditional activity. Monday may be the welcoming of "Lady Maslenitsa". The community builds the Maslenitsa effigy out of straw, decorated with pieces of rags, and fixed to a pole formerly known as [Kostroma](/source/Kostroma_(tradition)). It is paraded around, and the first pancakes may be made and offered to the poor. On Tuesday, young men might search for a fiancée to marry after Lent. On Wednesday, sons-in-law may visit their mother-in-law, who has prepared pancakes and invited other guests for a party. Thursday may be devoted to outdoor activities. People may take time off work and spend the day sledding, ice skating, conducting snowball fights and with sleigh rides. On Friday, sons-in-law may invite their mothers-in-law for dinner. Saturday may be a gathering of a young wife with her sisters-in-law to work on a good relationship.

## Sunday of Forgiveness

Burning of the Maslenitsa effigy, during the Celebration of Forgiveness Sunday in [Belgorod](/source/Belgorod), February 21, 2015

The last day of Cheesefare Week is called "Forgiveness Sunday" (Прощёное воскресенье). Relatives and friends ask each other for forgiveness and might offer them small presents. As the culmination of the celebration, people gather to "strip Lady Maslenitsa of her finery" and burn her in a [bonfire](/source/Bonfire). Left-over pancakes may also be thrown into the fire, and Lady Maslenitsa's ashes are buried in the snow to "fertilize the crops".[4]

At [Vespers](/source/Vespers) on Sunday evening, people may make a *[poklon](/source/Poklon)* (bow) before one another and ask forgiveness. Another name for Forgiveness Sunday is "Cheesefare Sunday", because for devout Orthodox Christians it is the last day on which dairy products may be consumed until Easter. Fish, wine and olive oil will also be forbidden on most days of Great Lent. The day following Cheesefare Sunday is called [Clean Monday](/source/Clean_Monday), because people have confessed their sins, asked forgiveness, and begun Great Lent with a clean slate.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Modern times

A girl wearing a traditional Russian [kokoshnik](/source/Kokoshnik) hat for Maslenitsa in Slovenia

Due to cultural factors in the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire), large public celebrations of Maslenitsa were no longer as common by the turn of the 20th century. After the [Russian Revolution](/source/Russian_Revolution) in 1917 and the following [state atheism in the Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_anti-religious_legislation), public Maslenitsa celebrations became even less common, although Maslenitsa continued to observed particularly in smaller private celebrations in homes and villages. In the 1960s and 1970s, as the USSR brought back some traditional folk holidays, Maslenitsa was again observed in large public celebrations that retained some of the holiday's secular elements, but with additional "contemporary socialist elements grafted onto it".[5]

After the start of *[perestroika](/source/Perestroika)* and [fall of the Soviet Union](/source/Fall_of_the_Soviet_Union) in the 1980s and 1990s, large outdoor celebrations started up again, and much of the older Maslenitsa traditions began to be revived in a modern context. Since 2002, Moscow has staged a yearly Maslenitsa festival next to the [Red Square](/source/Red_Square), with that and other celebrations attracting around 300,000 visitors in 2011.[5]

With increasing secularization, many Russians do not abstain from meat and Maslenitsa celebrations can be accompanied by [shashlik](/source/Shashlik) vendors. Nevertheless, "meat still does not play a major role in the festivities".[1] Many countries with a significant number of Russian immigrants consider Maslenitsa a suitable occasion to celebrate Russian culture, although the celebrations are usually reduced to one day and may not coincide with the date of the religious celebrations.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Gallery

		- [Vasily Surikov](/source/Vasily_Surikov). Взятие снежного городка Taking a Snow Town, 1891.

		- [Leonid Solomatkin](/source/Leonid_Solomatkin). Maslenitsa, 1878.

		- K. Kryzhanovsky. Sunday of Forgiveness, 19th century.

		- Scenery at Celebration of Maslenitsa

		- Maslenitsa celebrations in [Kharkiv](/source/Kharkiv), 2014

		- Maslenitsa festivities in [St. Petersburg](/source/St._Petersburg), 2018

## Adaptations

in 2012, Russian-Canadian composer [Airat Ichmouratov](/source/Airat_Ichmouratov) composed an [Overture Maslenitsa](/source/Maslenitsa_Overture_(Ichmouratov)). It was premiered in [Chicoutimi](/source/Chicoutimi), [Canada](/source/Canada), on 24 February 2013 by L'Orchestre Symphonique du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean under the baton of [French-Canadian](/source/French_Canadians) conductor Jacques Clément.[6][7]

## See also

- [Candlemas](/source/Candlemas)

- [Slavic carnival](/source/Slavic_carnival)

- [Fašiangy](/source/Fa%C5%A1iangy) (in [Slovakia](/source/Slovakia))

- [Rio Carnival](/source/Rio_Carnival) (in [Brazil](/source/Brazil))

- [Carnaval](/source/Carnival_in_the_Netherlands) (in the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands))

- [Fat Thursday](/source/Fat_Thursday) (in [Poland](/source/Poland))

- [Mardi Gras](/source/Mardi_Gras) (in other countries)

- [Mărţişor](/source/M%C4%83r%C5%A3i%C5%9For) (in [Romania](/source/Romania) and [Moldova](/source/Moldova))

- [Marzanna](/source/Marzanna) (in [Poland](/source/Poland))

- [Meteņi](/source/Mete%C5%86i) (in [Latvia](/source/Latvia))

- [Patras Carnival](/source/Patras_Carnival) (in [Greece](/source/Greece))

- [Tsiknopempti](/source/Tsiknopempti)

- [Shrove Tuesday](/source/Shrove_Tuesday) or "Pancake Day" (in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) and [Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland))

- [Petrushka (ballet)](/source/Petrushka_(ballet))

- [Užgavėnės](/source/U%C5%BEgav%C4%97n%C4%97s) (in [Lithuania](/source/Lithuania))

- [Farsang (Hungarian carnival)](/source/Farsang_(Hungarian_carnival))[8][*[circular reference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Wikipedia_and_sources_that_mirror_or_use_it)*]

- [Shrovetide](/source/Shrovetide)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-wilson_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-wilson_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-wilson_1-2) [Maslenitsa, Blin! The Food and Celebration of the Russians](http://www.sras.org/maslenitsa_blin) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080109033440/http://www.sras.org/Maslenitsa_blin) 2008-01-09 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) By Josh Wilson, Newsletter, The School of Russian and Asian Studies, 9 March 2005.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-mckibben_2-0)** [*Maslenitsa*](http://www.scn.org/arts/russfolk/maslenitsa.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130107082859/http://www.scn.org/arts/russfolk/maslenitsa.htm) 2013-01-07 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) by Margaret McKibben, Russian Folk Group of Seattle, WA, Seattle Community Network. undated.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Масляна: історія, традиції та заходи"](https://etnoxata.com.ua/statti/traditsiji/masljana-istorija-traditsiji-ta-zahodi/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rusla_4-0)** Ruslanguage School Moscow (22 February 2012). ["Malenitsa, a Week of Festivities"](http://www.russian-moscow.com/maslenitsa-a-week-of-festivities/). Retrieved 26 February 2015.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Celebration_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Celebration_5-1) Hudgins, Sharon (2011). "Buttering Up the Sun: Russian Maslenitsa from Pagan Practice to Contemporary Celebration". In McWilliams, Mark (ed.). *Celebration*. [Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery](/source/Oxford_Symposium_on_Food_and_Cookery). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781903018897](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781903018897).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_6-0)** Arthur Kaptainis. ["Ichmouratov; Overtures/Symphony"](https://www.eclassical.com/shop/17115/art86/5054586-49a268-095115217221.pdf) (PDF). *www.eclassical.com*. Chandos Records Catalogue CHAN 20172- Booklet. Retrieved 20 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Beaucage, Réjean. ["Orchestre de la Francophonie & Jean-Philippe Tremblay Airat Ichmouratov: Symphony"](https://panm360.com/en/records/airat-ichmouratov-symphony/). panm360.com. Retrieved 20 September 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Busójárás](/source/Bus%C3%B3j%C3%A1r%C3%A1s)

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Maslenitsa](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Maslenitsa).

- [Lives of the Saints](http://oca.org/saints/lives) The Orthodox Church in America, undated.

- Marks, Gil (2010). [*Encyclopedia of Jewish Food*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ojc4Uker_V0C&q=food+encyclopedia%2C+blintz&pg=PA57). Wiley. pp. 56–58. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780470943540](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780470943540). Retrieved April 18, 2012. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780470391303](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780470391303)

v t e Easter and its cycle Lent Pre-Lent Septuagesima Sexagesima Quinquagesima Carnival (Shrovetide) Fat Thursday Tsiknopempti Shrove Monday Rosenmontag Shrove Tuesday Mardi Gras Holy Face of Jesus Fastelavn Maslenitsa Lent proper Ash Wednesday Great Lent Temptation of Christ First Sunday of Lent Ember days Laetare Sunday (Mothering Sunday) Passiontide Passion Sunday (Lenten veil, Lenten shrouds) Friday of Sorrows Music Ave Regina caelorum Passion (music) Passion hymns Stabat Mater Holy Week Palm Sunday Triumphal entry into Jerusalem Gloria, laus et honor Hosanna filio David "Singt dem König Freudenpsalmen" Ferias Holy Monday Holy Tuesday Holy Wednesday Triduum Tenebrae Maundy Thursday Chrism Mass Last Supper Crotalus Art Farewell Discourse Mass of the Lord's Supper Foot washing Stripping of the Altar Good Friday Passion of Jesus Arma Christi Stations of the Cross Crucifixion of Jesus Descent from the Cross Lamentation Epitaphios Encomia Pietà Burial of Jesus Tomb of Jesus Easter Sepulchre Good Friday prayer for the Jews Gorzkie żale Holy Saturday Harrowing of Hell Święconka Easter Vigil Paschal candle Holy Fire Lumen Christi Exsultet Artos Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Traditions Burning of Judas Processions By location Colombia Popayán Guatemala Italy Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto Ruvo di Puglia Malta Mexico Taxco Philippines Portugal Braga Spain Cuenca Málaga Salamanca San Cristóbal de La Laguna Santa Cruz de La Palma Seville Valladolid Viveiro Zamora Easter Day Resurrection of Jesus Art Myrrhbearers Road to Emmaus appearance Paschal Homily Sunrise service Date List of dates Calculation Season Liturgical features Alleluia Pentecostarion Trikirion Octave Bright Week Easter Sunday Easter Monday Śmigus-dyngus Easter whip Easter Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Second Sunday of Easter Doubting Thomas Divine Mercy Sunday Radonitsa Third Sunday of Easter Fourth Sunday of Easter Mid-Pentecost Fifth Sunday of Easter Rogation days Ascensiontide Ascension of Jesus Art Feast of the Ascension Cenacle Novena Matthias the Apostle Traditions Basket Bonnet Bunny Bilby Cavallo di fuoco Easter seals Food Greeting Parade Pace Egg play Postcard Rouketopolemos Saitopolemos Scoppio del carro Virvonta Easter witch Easter eggs Dance Decorating in Slavic culture Rolling Hunt Osterbrunnen Tapping Tree Tossing By country Croatia Poland Ukraine By country Ethiopia and Eritrea Italy Latvia Poland Pre-Christian Ēostre Music Easter Oratorio I Will Mention the Loving-kindnesses Russian Easter Festival Overture Salzburg Easter Festival Liturgical Regina caeli Troparion Victimae paschali laudes Cantatas Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6 Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 Der Friede sei mit dir, BWV 158 Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31 Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß, BWV 134 Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66 Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen, BWV 145 Hymns Christ the Lord Is Risen Today Jesus Christ Is Risen Today O filii et filiae The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done Choral music Surrexit a mortuis Film and TV Films Television episodes Pentecost Season Octave Pentecost Sunday Whitsun Whit Monday Whit Tuesday Ember days Feast of Christ the Priest Trinity Sunday Feast of Corpus Christi Feast of the Sacred Heart

v t e Carnival around the world Asia Indonesia Solo Jember Jakarta Philippines Sinulog Ati-Atihan festival Europe Austria Belgium Aalst Binche Denmark England Finland France Nice Paris Germany Cologne Mainz Greece Patras Hungary Italy Venice Viareggio Ivrea Foiano della Chiana Satriano di Lucania Lithuania Malta Netherlands Portugal Madeira Ovar Slavic Belarus, Russia, Ukraine Croatia Slovenia Spain Cádiz Las Palmas Santa Cruz Switzerland Basel Turkey North America Canada Ottawa Quebec City Toronto México Vera Cruz Mazatlán United States Mobile New Orleans New York City Caribbean Antigua Bahamas Barbados Cayman Islands Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Haiti Jamaica Nevis Puerto Rico (Ponce) Trinidad and Tobago South America Argentina Buenos Aires Gualeguaychú Murga Bolivia Oruro Brazil Rio São Paulo Bahia Recife Colombia Barranquilla Negros y Blancos French Guiana Cayenne Guyana Panama Las Tablas Peru Cajamarca Uruguay Oceania Australia Related Mardi Gras Catholicism portal World portal

v t e Slavic mythology and religion Deities Chernobog and BelobogH ChernoglavF Dazhbog DevanaH Dyi [ru]H Diviya [ru; uz]H Khors KresnikH Lada mythology MoranaH Mokosh PizamarHH YariloH HennilH KyiH Lel and PolelH Niya Perun PodagaF Porenut Porevit Prove [ru] or ProneF RadegastH Rod Rugiaevit PereplutH PerperunaH Simargl Stribog Pogoda [ru; cs; fr]H Zelu [cs]H Svarog Svarozhits Svetovit Triglav Veles Yarovit ZhivaF Zorya ŻywieH Personifications Dola Karna and Zhelya [ru]H Koliada Mat Zemlya Moryana Rod Rozhanitsy Zorya Pseudo-deities Chislobog Chur Dana [ru] Dzidzileyla Flins Krodo Kupala Lada Lelya [ru] Pogvizd [ru] Troyan [ru] Uslad Vesna Voloska Yesha Priesthood and cult Vedmak Volkhv Zhrets Legendary heroes and peoples Alyosha Popovich Burislav Chud Damned Jerina Đerzelez Alija Dobrynya Nikitich Hrnjica Brothers Ilya Muromets Ivan Tsarevich Jugović brothers Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv Lech, Czech, and Rus Libuše Mikula Selyaninovich Mila Gojsalić Milan Toplica Miloš Obilić Misizla Mustay-Bey of Lika Nikita the Tanner Popiel Prince Marko Sadko Solovey-Razboynik Svyatogor Vasilisa the Beautiful Volga Svyatoslavich Legendary creatures Unclean dead Vila Drekavac Kikimora Mavka Upiór Place spirits Bannik Bolotnik Cornflower Wraith Domovoy Dvorovoy Lady Midday Leshy Boruta Mistress of the Copper Mountain Moryana Ovinnik Polevik Vodyanoy Shubin Water spirits Entities Ala Alkonost Baba Yaga Babay Baš Čelik Bauk Berehynia Bies Black Arab Błędnica Blud Boginki Bukavac Chernava Chuhaister Cikavac Chort Čuma Dukljan Dziwożona Fern flower-Chervona Ruta Firebird Gagana Gamayun Indrik Ispolin Karzełek Koshchei Krsnik Likho Likhoradka Mare Meduza Molfar Nav Nocnitsa Płanetnik Povitrulya Psoglav Raróg Rahmans Raskovnik Rozhanitsy Rusalka Samodiva Sea Tsar Sirin Shishiga Skrzak Strzyga Stuhać Stricha Sudice Tintilinić Topielec Ved Vesna Zduhać Zmey Werewolf White-Eyed Chud Ritual figures Baba Marta German Dodola and Perperuna Koliada Kupala Kostroma Marzanna Maslenitsa Jarilo Mythological places Alatyr Bald Mountain Buyan Faraway Tsardom Oponskoye Kingdom Kitezh Lukomorye Vyraj Objects Axe of Perun Sword Kladenets Beliefs Creation myths First humans in Slavic mythology Superstition in Russia Serbian folk astronomy Folklore Czech Russian Serbian Ukrainian Polish Literature Bosniak epic poetry Bylina Russian fairy tale Serbian epic poetry Ukrainian fairy tale Christianization Moravia (830s) Bulgaria (860s) Bohemia (880s) Poland (960s) Kievan Rus' (980s) Pomerania (1120s–60s) Bogomilism Folk practices Apocryphal prayer Zagovory Egg decoration Martenitsa Folk cults (also including Ossetian) Ognyena Maria Paraskeva of Iconium Paraskeva Friday Nicholas the Wonderworker Veles Ilya the Prophet Uacilla George the Victorious Dazhbog Uastyrdzhi Saint Anastasia Saint Nedelya Saint Vlasius Veles Maslenitsa Saint Peter Donbettyr Saint Theodore Tutyr Saint Eustace Apsat Revivalist organizations God-Building Slavic Native Faith Authentism Bazhovism Ivanovism Kandybaism Levashovism Peterburgian Vedism Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism Slavic-Hill Rodnovery Sylenkoism Vseyasvetnaya Gramota Ynglism Roerichism Russian Zoroastrianism In popular culture Fantasy Film Related topics Book of Veles Slavic Native Faith's calendars and holidays Notes: H historicity of the deity is dubious; F functions of the deity are unclear.

v t e Slavic holidays Feast days Kolyada Božić Christmas Malanka (St. Basil's Day) Epiphany Candlemas Festival of Veles Pre-Lent Maslenitsa (Cheesefare Week) Slavic carnival Feast of the Annunciation Palm Sunday Easter Bright Week Radonitsa George's Day in Spring Feast of the translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas Ascension of Jesus Christ Green week Trinity Saturday Trinity Day Kupala Night Feast of Saint Peter Feast of the Prophet Elijah Honey Feast of the Saviour Apple Feast of the Saviour Nut Feast of the Saviour Dożynki Nativity of the Virgin Pokrova (Feast of the Protection of the Holy Virgin) Saturday of Saint Demetrius Mitrovdan (Feast of Saint Demetrius) Day of Sts Cosma and Damian Saint Nicholas Day

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