Sunrise on Mt. Sinai
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Masslenitsa
Hello everyone!! I'm sorry it's been so long - so much has happened, it's been impossible to find time to write. Pictures at the end of this entry!
Happy Lent for those of you who are celebrating as we prepare for Easter. Here, it is "post," meaning "fast," the Orthodox equivalent of Lent, lasting 36 not 40 days, wherein all adherents to the religion must temporarily eat vegan, not have sex, and maybe some other requirements about prayer, I don't know all the details. But all the popular cafes have been advertising their "fasting" menus, meaning there are enough people who really do keep the fast in this country that that is warranted. Interesting! Most Russians I talk to say that religion is a big hoax, all orthodox priests are phonies and that there are very few genuine believers in Russia. I don't know if I believe that last part. Many Russians wear an orthodox cross as a necklace. Many, many go to church as well, but only on Easter and Christmas - "official" or "cultural" practicers of the religion but not letting it affect their daily lives in any way. However, I do know several who really believe and go to church regularly.
As in many now Christian countries, in order to ease the transition, bringers of Christianity did not try to obliterate previous beliefs, but rather to "integrate" them - Easter, in a religious sense Christ's resurrection, has been melded with pagan holidays. When we think of Easter, we think of rabbits and eggs, signs of fertility, and spring, the celebration of the return of warm weather. Russians still celebrate the pagan holiday called Masslenitsa (stress on first syllable) - the death of winter and unofficial first day of spring. They have a big doll that represents winter and they burn it. They play fun games outside (in the snow and freezing cold - it's not like they wait til April! It's in the end of February!!). They fight with wooden sticks held in both hands, they try to climb up a greased pole with prizes at the top, one of which is a bottle of vodka and another a live rooster! They have maypoles I guess they're called - a pole with multi-colored ribbons hanging from the top - children each take one and dance around in a circle. And they play leapfrog, tug of war and other games. They eat blini, Russian crepes, which are associated with the sun. It's a general good time.
I celebrated this year by going again to Gorky park with Marie Helene and Pasha. It was so fun! There were ice sculptures and snowmen and women of all sorts. We created our own - see pics. We heard concerts and saw a fire show. There was rock music and folk music. We ate blini. It was a great time. But we were freezing. Supposedly, after Masslenitsa there will be no more frosts - not true!!
zhzhzhzhzhzhzhzhzhzhzhzhoooop! You can see where i slid along....
Happy Lent for those of you who are celebrating as we prepare for Easter. Here, it is "post," meaning "fast," the Orthodox equivalent of Lent, lasting 36 not 40 days, wherein all adherents to the religion must temporarily eat vegan, not have sex, and maybe some other requirements about prayer, I don't know all the details. But all the popular cafes have been advertising their "fasting" menus, meaning there are enough people who really do keep the fast in this country that that is warranted. Interesting! Most Russians I talk to say that religion is a big hoax, all orthodox priests are phonies and that there are very few genuine believers in Russia. I don't know if I believe that last part. Many Russians wear an orthodox cross as a necklace. Many, many go to church as well, but only on Easter and Christmas - "official" or "cultural" practicers of the religion but not letting it affect their daily lives in any way. However, I do know several who really believe and go to church regularly.
As in many now Christian countries, in order to ease the transition, bringers of Christianity did not try to obliterate previous beliefs, but rather to "integrate" them - Easter, in a religious sense Christ's resurrection, has been melded with pagan holidays. When we think of Easter, we think of rabbits and eggs, signs of fertility, and spring, the celebration of the return of warm weather. Russians still celebrate the pagan holiday called Masslenitsa (stress on first syllable) - the death of winter and unofficial first day of spring. They have a big doll that represents winter and they burn it. They play fun games outside (in the snow and freezing cold - it's not like they wait til April! It's in the end of February!!). They fight with wooden sticks held in both hands, they try to climb up a greased pole with prizes at the top, one of which is a bottle of vodka and another a live rooster! They have maypoles I guess they're called - a pole with multi-colored ribbons hanging from the top - children each take one and dance around in a circle. And they play leapfrog, tug of war and other games. They eat blini, Russian crepes, which are associated with the sun. It's a general good time.
I celebrated this year by going again to Gorky park with Marie Helene and Pasha. It was so fun! There were ice sculptures and snowmen and women of all sorts. We created our own - see pics. We heard concerts and saw a fire show. There was rock music and folk music. We ate blini. It was a great time. But we were freezing. Supposedly, after Masslenitsa there will be no more frosts - not true!!
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