Maslenitsa or Shrovetide (Pancake Week, Mardi Gras) is a Slavic holiday, which symbolizes the meeting of the winter and spring, the last feast before Lent. According to the old Slavic tradition, Shrovetide is celebrated at the end of the winter and involves festivities on the fresh air, where the nature together with the youth is awakening from a long sleep, sounds laughter and smiles. In Russia a symbol of the holiday are the bright costumes and the smell of delicious pancakes with cottage cheese, salmon or honey. During the period of celebration is allowed to eat dairy products, butter, eggs and fish. Under the ban is meat.
The holiday was originated in paganism, forming a kind of a folk calendar. It is closely linked with national and church traditions, likening Shrovetide before the Lent with the spiritual purification. Week ends after Forgiveness Sunday.
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