Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa , also known as Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe week, or Cheesefare Week, is an <a href="/facts/East_Slavs/aNNxqGFq">Eastern Slavic</a> religious and folk holiday which has retained a number of elements of <a href="/facts/Slavic_mythology/s5J1THoF">Slavic mythology</a> in its ritual. It is celebrated during the last week before <a href="/facts/Great_Lent/H6NLE5IC">Great Lent</a>; that is, the eighth week before <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church/5n20Akh5">Eastern Orthodox</a> <a href="/facts/Easter/LYPGCQge">Pascha</a>, equivalent to the West's <a href="/facts/Sexagesima/rdtsaAUy">Sexagesima</a>.
The date of Maslenitsa changes every year, depending on the date of the celebration of Easter. It corresponds to the <a href="/facts/Western_Christianity/9YP8vhKs">Western Christian</a> <a href="/facts/Carnival/zwDJMMS9">Carnival</a>, except that Orthodox Lent begins on a <a href="/facts/Clean_Monday/cGuG4hjv">Monday</a> instead of a <a href="/facts/Ash_Wednesday/yPeo60jL">Wednesday</a>, and the Orthodox <a href="/facts/Easter/LYPGCQge">date of Easter</a> can differ greatly from the Western Christian date.
The traditional attributes of the Maslenitsa celebration are the Maslenitsa <a href="/facts/Effigy/LNHFTn6J">effigy</a>, sleigh rides, and festivities. Russians bake <a href="/facts/Blini/PqNdWrY4">blini</a> and <a href="/facts/Flatbread/XyozG8yg">flatbread</a>, while Belarusians and Ukrainians cook <a href="/facts/Pierogi/38eyyK3x">pierogi</a> and <a href="/facts/Syrniki/hPvqpeV6">syrniki</a>.

Maslenitsa open-in-new

Maslenitsa