Sun symbol
We have become so accustomed to the idea that the main symbol of Maslenitsa is the pancake that we often don’t even think about why this is so? There are several versions of the explanation for this fact. According to the first, a golden ruddy round pancake is associated with the sun, which will mark the arrival of spring. This tradition began in pagan times, when the Maslenitsa holiday was timed to coincide with the spring equinox.
But there is another, less popular version. It has become less widespread, but in vain. After all, this version has absolutely real grounds. Pancakes have long been served at funeral dinners. They were used to commemorate dead ancestors. According to an ancient legend, “heavenly fire” awaited all the dead, and it was this that our ancestors associated with pancakes. This is where the tradition of giving the first pancake baked on the first day of Maslenitsa week to commemorate the departed began. And although both versions are not unfounded, our people liked the first one more. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the main symbol of Maslenitsa is a golden pancake, symbolizing our sun and signifying the victory of spring over winter.
Maslyanitsa songs and chants:
GOODBYE, Maslyanitsa!
(“Izmailovskaya Sloboda”)
Bye Bye! Goodbye, butterfly! You didn’t come on Wednesday, and not on Friday. You came on Sunday, our fun is over. We rode down the mountain From dawn to dusk, And today is Sunday, Our fun is over. Farewell, farewell, And come again next year!
Record
Maslenitsa is a deceiver
(chant while burning the oil effigy)
Oh, you, Maslenitsa, you are a liar! She deceived me, cheated her, and didn’t let her have fun! Go away, Winter, go to bed, Send Spring! Goodbye, Maslenitsa! / 3 times
Record
MASLENITSA, I'M WALKING
Maslenitsa, I'm walking! Oh, I'm walking, Lyuli, I'm walking. I'm walking, I don't lose heart, Oh, I don't lose heart, Lyuli, I don't lose heart. Maslenitsa, wry neck! Oh, torticollis, lyuli, torticollis! Let's see you off well! Oh, good, Lyuli, good! Oh, buttery, oh, little fat, oh! Pokurguzka, lyuli, pokurguzka! Let's see you off, oh, it's going to get heavy, oh! It will become heavy, Lyuli, it will become heavy. Oh, oily, oh, Canada, oh! Canada, people, Canada! Stretch yourself, oh, at least to the point of your spirit, oh! At least to the spirit, Lyuli, at least to the spirit. Oh, buttery, oh, deceiver, oh! Deceiver, lyuli, deceiver! We'll give you, oh, for a monk, oh! For the monk, Lyuli, for the monk. Oh, olive, oh, polysukha, oh! Polyzuha, lyuli, polysuha! She licked it, oh, chicken eggs, oh! Chicken eggs, lyuli, chicken eggs. Oh, olive, oh, polysukha, oh! Polyzuha, lyuli, polysuha! I licked the cheese and butter, oh! Cheese and butter, lyuli, cheese and butter. Cheese and butter, oh, chicken eggs, oh! Chicken eggs, lyuli, chicken eggs! Oh, chicken eggs, oh, and loaf, oh! Karavaets, lyuli, karavaets. Record
AGU, SPRING!
Aha, it's clear! Yeah, red! Why did you bring it to us? Woohoo! Old grandmothers like a pancake, And girls like a little one... Wow! And the girls don't care about the little ones, the little kids don't care about the testicles... Woo-hoo! Entry 1 | Entry 2 | Entry 3
MEETING MASLENITSA
And we are waiting for Maslenitsa, waiting. We look out the window and take a look. We'll see the cheese and butter in our eyes, we'll see it. Our Maslenitsa is annual, annual. She is a dear guest, dear. She doesn’t come to us on foot, she doesn’t come to us. Everything is driving around in cars, driving around. You, Maslenitsa, torticollis, torticollis, Oh, and we will meet you well, well. We are covering the mountain with pancakes, covering it. Drizzle oil on top and pour. Like the cheese makes the mountain become steeper and steeper, But the butter makes the mountain clearer and clearer. Oh, you, Maslenitsa, reach out, reach out! You grab onto the oak tree, grab onto the deck, grab onto it! Entry 1 | Entry 2 | Entry 3 | Entry 4 | Entry 5
WE'VE BEEN WAITING, SOUL
And we waited for Maslyanitsa, We waited, dear soul, we waited! They stacked the mountain with cheese and butter, stacked it, soulfully, stacked it! And we celebrated Maslyanitsa, celebrated, dear souls, celebrated! Oh, Maslanitsa, stretch out, stretch out, soul, stretch out! And we were waiting for Maslyanitsa...
AND WE WERE WAITING FOR Maslenitsa...
Oh-and, Maslanitsa, show yourself! We've been waiting for you again. Oh, with cheese, with butter, with bread, with honey. Oh-and, Shrovetide is fair! Oh and Maslenitsa, reach out! Oh, and, grab a stump, a birch tree! Oh, they said, Maslyanoy is seven years old. And our Maslyanaya has seven days. Oh-and, Shrovetide, the honorable one! Oh-and, Maslyanitsa, reach out! Oh, and catch on a stump, on a birch tree! Record
WE WERE WAITING
And we were waiting for Maslenitsa! They stacked the mountain with cheese and butter! Oh, you, Maslenitsa, stretch out and cling to the white birch tree! And we waited for Maslenitsa...
MASLENITSA IS COMING
Dear Maslenitsa is coming, Our annual guest, Yes, on painted sleighs, Yes, on black horses, Maslenitsa lives for seven days, Stays for seven years.
OH, SAID, OIL...
Oh, they said Maslyanoy - Seven weeks, seven weeks. Left Butter - One day, one day. Oily, happy Reach out until the Great Day.
AND WE WERE CELEBRATING MANITISA...
And we saw off Maslyanitsa, we saw off our darling, we lost, we lost And we buried in a hole, we buried And we trampled on the hole, trampled on Lie down, Maslanitsa, all year long, all year long In a year we will dig you up, we will dig you up And we will roll you back, we will roll you out You are Maslanitsa, torticollis, torticollis We will give you a good, good show. Record
WE WERE CELEBRATING MASLENITSA
(short) And we saw off Maslenitsa. Often, everyone sighed importantly for it: Oh, you, Maslenitsa, come back! You will reach out until the red summer! And we saw off Maslenitsa!
BLAASLAVI, MATI, VYASNU ZAKLIKATI
Blaaslavi, mother, call for the sun! Early, early, call for the sun! Call for Viasna to say goodbye to winter! Sooner, sooner, see off the winter! Say goodbye to winter - cut off summer! Sooner, sooner, start the summer! The winter one goes into a cart, the little one goes into a wreath! Sooner, sooner, fly into the wreath! The girls sat and curled their flowers. Sooner or later, they curled their flowers. The Vyankas were curling, calling to the vyasna, Early, early, calling to the vyasna! We bid farewell to winter and said goodbye to summer! Sooner, sooner, summer has begun! The winter one goes into a cart, the little one goes into a shuttle! Sooner, sooner, little flight - into the shuttle! Record
GIVE ME A KEY, GOD!
(Each line is repeated twice)
Give me the key, God! Open the veil. Close the winter. Winter on the cart, on the bottom of the shelf. Viasna is in the chalnochka, And summer is in the carriage.
Record
Russian folk songs about Maslenitsa, lyrics
In folk songs on Maslenitsa, they most often sing about abundance, and this is no coincidence. After all, the holiday of farewell to winter in Rus' marked the beginning of the agricultural cycle, on the success of which both the well-being and the very survival of people depended.
Songs about Maslenitsa
Come visit us, Maslenitsa, in the wide yard - ride in the mountains, roll in pancakes, amuse your hearts!
Songs about Maslenitsa
Wide Maslenitsa, We boast about you, We ride in the mountains, We overeat on pancakes! Spring is not spring, But winter is gone. I baked pancakes, But you refused.
My friend and I were walking, we covered a mountain with cheese, we covered it all with pancakes, we poured butter on top!
Like during Shrovetide week, pancakes flew from the table, and cheese, and cottage cheese - Everything flew under the threshold!
Girls, Oiler is coming! Who will take us for a ride? In Petrushka's yard, Sivka disappears.
Maslenitsa - white-legged, stay with us a little, for a week, for a day, for a single hour!
But abundance is not only the fertility of the earth, but also the birth of children. Therefore, Maslenitsa songs talk about love and harmony in the family. In the old days, brides' viewings and engagements were celebrated on this holiday. There are also special children's songs.
Songs of Maslenitsa
Burn and burn clearly so that it doesn’t go out. Here are Susleniki, here are Masleniki! She came out young through the new gates, Here are the Susleniki, here are the Masleniki!
She released the young from the right sleeve, Here are the Susleniki, here are the Masleniki!
From the right sleeve of a rock dove. Here are Susleniki, here are Masleniki!
You fly, fly, my dove, high and far, Here are the gophers, here are the Masleniki!
High and far away, right on a friend’s porch. Here are Susleniki, here are Masleniki!
You tell my friend to go for pancakes, Susleniki are here, Masleniki are here!
So that he goes to pancakes until the evening before dawn. Here are Susleniki, here are Masleniki!
They also sang sad songs on Maslenitsa. Winter has always been a difficult time, and when it ended, our ancestors remembered loved ones who did not have the chance to meet spring. Pancakes are a traditional dish at the Slavic funeral table. But Maslenitsa is a fun holiday, so in revenge on Winter they arrange a mock funeral for her and burn an effigy, rejoicing at the arrival of Spring and the onset of warmth.
Oh, you field duck, Field duck, cherished, field duck, Where did you spend the night, Spent the night, cherished, spent the night? “I spent the night by the forest, By the forest, cherished, by the forest, Under the broom bush, Under the bush, cherished, under the bush. I brought you cheese with butter, Cheese with butter, leli, cheese with butter. Yes, I buried that hole, I buried it, I buried it, I buried it. Lie down, butter, and for the summer, Yes, for the summer, lie down, and for the summer. While there will be a year round, a year round, cherished, a year round.”
Song: OH pancakes, pancakes, pancakes
We haven’t eaten pancakes for a long time, We wanted pancakes, Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, You are my pancakes. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. Our elder sister is a master at baking pancakes. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. She baked some food, there are probably five hundred. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. She puts it on the tray and carries it to the table herself. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. Guests, be healthy, my pancakes are ready. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes. Oh, pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, you are my pancakes.
Bell ringer.
Players stand in a circle and choose a driver (for example, using a counting rhyme). The driver walks in a circle, saying:
Dili-don, dili-don,
Guess where the ringing is coming from.
The rest of the players dance on the spot at this time. Having pronounced the word “ringing,” the driver turns to the player who is standing next to him, claps his hands three times and bows. The player also claps his hands three times, bows and stands behind the driver. Now they walk in a circle together, saying the same words:
Dili-don, dili-don,
Guess where the ringing is coming from.
At the word “ringing,” the claps and bow are repeated, and a third participant joins the game. So the driver walks in a circle until there are 4-5 people behind him. After this, those who remained in the circle begin to clap, and the driver and those players who followed him dance. When the players in the circle stop clapping, the driver and other players need to pair up with someone. The one who is left without a partner becomes the driver.
And we were waiting for Maslenitsa, lyrics
The most famous folk Maslenitsa song is “And we were waiting for Maslenitsa.” Starting on Thursday, the Maslenitsa effigy was seated in a cart or sleigh decorated with colored ribbons and driven from house to house. The sleigh was accompanied by mummers who sang funny Maslenitsa carols. They were greeted with the song “And we were waiting for Maslenitsa” and, of course, generously treated with pancakes with a variety of fillings, pies, cottage cheese and wine.
And we waited for Maslenitsa, And we waited for Maslenitsa, Ay Lyuli! We went up the hill, We went up the hill. Ay Lyuli!
The cheese and butter were taken out, The cheese and butter were taken out. Ay Lyuli!
They poured a mound of cheese, They poured a mound of cheese. Ay Lyuli!
They poured oil on the hill, They poured oil on the hill. Ay Lyuli!
Oh, Maslenitsa, be rolling, Be rolling, Lyuli, be rolling. Ay Lyuli!
The canaries have flown in, The canaries have flown in. Ay Lyuli!
Our hill was dug up, Our hill was dug up. Ay Lyuli!
Cheese and butter pecked, Cheese and butter pecked. Ay Lyuli!
Oh, you, Maslenitsa, stretch out, and cling to the white birch tree! Ay Lyuli!
Oh, they said, Maslyanoy is seven years old. And our Maslyanaya has seven days. Ay Lyuli!
Happy Maslenitsa holiday, because spring is the best time of the year. Play games, eat pancakes, sing songs for Maslenitsa, happy holiday!
