During the vernal equinox, the Slavic people celebrate Shrovetide. This pagan holiday means seeing off winter. It existed even before the baptism of Russia, when people worshiped idols.
An obligatory attribute of this riotous festival is Pancake Week - a ritual doll. She represents the evil and cold winter. Therefore, after the oil week it is burned, thus welcoming the arrival of spring.
Stuffed winter
Before you make a Maslenitsa doll with your own hands, you need to prepare branches, twigs, straw. And for hair - flax braids and a scarf on the head braided with a slant . A thin birch trunk is taken as a basis. He, like straw, symbolizes the exuberant power of vegetation. Usually a burning doll is made large, taller than a person. A floral ornament is required on clothing . Making a Maslenitsa doll is completed by attaching it to a wooden cross and decorating it with ribbons, paper flowers.
After the Pancake week, or pancake week, the doll is burnt on a forgiveness Sunday, and the Great Forty Day fast begins until Easter. So closely adjoin the Slavs two big holidays - pagan and Christian.
In addition to a large stuffed animal, there are small Shrovetide for home.
Home amulet
Before you make a Maslenitsa doll with your own hands (small size), you need to prepare twigs, lace, colored shreds. Then the branches are tied so that arms are spread out, and a cord is wound around the head. On it - a lot of shreds, a red scarf on top.
Little Maslenitsa is considered the daughter or younger sister of a large doll. Its height is about 20 cm. Such a doll - home Pancake week, brightly dressed - "lives" in a red corner. It serves as a talisman and brings prosperity and happiness.
The doll-amulet Shrovetide can be made from a slingshot branch. The two ends are hands raised up. Between them, a circle is fixed, symbolizing the Sun, damn it, the solstice ("turn" to add a day), fertility.
Rag Charm
Such a Maslenitsa doll is made entirely of fabric or thick threads with its own hands. She also protects the house and attracts luck, but only until next year, until the next holiday of Shrovetide, where she will be burned along with a large scarecrow. And in her place will come a new rag doll.
DIY doll
The process does not take much time and effort. Before you make a Shrovetide doll with your own hands, you need to cut the fabric into strips.
The length of one part of the strips is 10 cm (for the body). The other part, consisting of the same number of strips, should be 20 cm long. It is intended for the manufacture of the head and hands.
When everything is ready, the production of Maslenitsa dolls can begin. For this, the bundle of strips intended for the body is tied with thread at both ends, departing from the edge of 1-2 cm.
The other is bent in the middle and, departing from the place of the fold 2-3 cm, is also tied with thread. A body is sewn to the resulting head with hands. Its lower part is wrapped with a bright flap and fixed with threads.
Now it remains only to starch the doll well and to pass a rather dense twig or wooden stick in the middle. You can tie a red scarf on your head - and the folk doll Shrovetide is ready!
Traditions
The home doll used to meet the bride and groom. On one of the days of the pancake week, when the mother-in-law was waiting for the son-in-law for pancakes, Maslenitsa was put out of the window.
People believed that such a doll protects household members from quarrels and quarrels, strengthens relations within a large family.
The kind and cheerful Pancake week is today considered a family holiday. It provides an opportunity to go to each other for a week to visit each other for pancakes, and on Sunday ask everyone for forgiveness, cleansing your soul, and forgive others. The seven-day holiday ends with a mass walk with eating pancakes, climbing a post for boots and burning a stuffed Pancake week. The winter ends here, and spring comes into its own.
Why burn a scarecrow
The Shrovetide doll represents a cold and long winter. Therefore, when it is destroyed, people rejoice and delight. Previously, people believed that along with a scarecrow, all difficulties, bitterness and resentment were burned.
Again, the doll in the form of a hospitable ruddy woman, who treated everyone to pancakes, symbolized a comfortable and well-fed life, which means good harvests. A legitimate question arises - why then destroy it? This contradiction becomes clearer if you go back to prehistoric times.
Perpetual update
The ancient pagan Slavs, in fact, celebrated the beginning of a new agricultural year. We approached this business on a grand scale: festivities, round dances, plentiful meals, fist fights. We had fun before the hard work - plowing, sowing, caring for crops and livestock.
If you look from this side, the destruction of the effigy was perceived as the idea of eternal renewal. Any junk collected from all yards flew into the bonfire: old things that had fallen into disrepair, utensils that could not be repaired, barrels, harrows, etc. It was believed that the larger the bonfire, the faster the plowing could begin. The ceremony of seeing off winter was accompanied by ritual dances and chants. Thus, people got rid of all the bad things that happened last year, making room for a new, better one. Ashes from the fire were scattered across the field for a rich harvest.
People were very respectful of Shrovetide. Therefore, the celebration was dedicated to her, and burned a scarecrow of winter - Morena. Later, the boundaries between the two concepts were erased. Now the burning doll is called, like the holiday, Maslenitsa.
How was celebrated
Each day of the week was celebrated in its own way.
Monday. The daughter-in-law from the husband’s family went to her parents to help them with the housework, as the matchmakers should come in the evening to arrange a celebration of Shrovetide. On this day, baked pancakes, built slides of snow for skating and dressed up a scarecrow.
Tuesday. Young people fight for the capture of snow fortresses, ride a roller coaster, take off to the sun on a swing. And most importantly, he is looking after a couple.
Wednesday. On this day, the son-in-law comes to visit his mother-in-law for pancakes that are baked of all stripes - buckwheat, wheat, dairy, with seasoning. They are served with butter, honey, jam, caviar, salmon, mushrooms and drinks.
Thursday. Stuffed Carnival carry along the streets, sing songs of praise, carol. In some villages and villages, this tradition has survived to this day.
Friday. On this day, the mother-in-law, with all her relatives, is treated to pancakes by her son-in-law, which thereby shows how he respects them.
Saturday. The daughter-in-law gives presents to the sister-in-law of the husband. The most impatient tow of stuffed animals, ashes scatter across the field.
Sunday. All ask each other's forgiveness and forgiveness. Remember the departed. Walking ends, indefatigability in food and drink. The remaining stuffed animals are burned. To drive away the cold, bonfires are made on the slides on which they rode all week. In the evening they go to the bathhouse.
Today everything has moved a little, and the modern culmination of the holiday falls on Sunday. Therefore, people are trying in one day to catch as much as possible, to participate in all events, eat pancakes, climb on a pole for boots (boots are no longer needed) and see how Pancake week is burning.
Scarecrow Making Instructions
Before you make a Maslenitsa doll yourself, you need to cook everything you need. Using two dry wooden blocks, a hammer, nails, straw, cardboard, light linen bags for hands and head, a scarf and a dress, it is not difficult to make a stuffed animal.
A Pancake week scarecrow is done in the same way as a garden scarecrow. Two dry bars need to be brought down with a cross: long - the base, short - future hands.
Flammable materials are paper and straw (dry grass). They need to be tied with twine to the cross, forming the body of the doll. If there is no straw, brooms will do.
For the head, a linen bag of a light shade is taken, stuffed with grass or paper. A bright, preferably red, scarf is tied at the top. If the bag was not found, then you can simply wrap the straw with white paper. The scarf will support the head so that it does not fall apart ahead of time, and its ends will help to fix it on the body.
An old dress with long sleeves is put on a scarecrow. If you want to make the doll more believable, then you can perform voluminous hands. To do this, fill two elongated bags with straw and put them on the short ends of the stick, and pull the hands with twine. Such a stuffed animal can also be worn with a sundress.
Shrovetide, one of the few dolls to which it is allowed, you can draw a face. Red lips and rosy cheeks will contrast well with snow. Eyes, as usual, are drawn closed.
Braids are woven from stripes of yellow fabric or paper, decorated with bright bows.