Maslenitsa

In  2013, Maslenitsa (Russian carnival) will be held from 11 to 17 March, and from March 18 to begin Lent.
Pancake week - ancient Slavic feast remained since pagan culture and preserved after the adoption of Christianity. This is a holiday for a week when seeing off winter and welcome spring, expect a close heat and renewal of spring nature. Inapplicable attribute Carnival - pancakes, they have a ritual: the round, rosy, warm, they were a symbol of the sun, which flared brighter, lengthening days.

Maslenitsa - is the most joyous holiday with festivals, songs, dances, games and fairs. At the end of the festival is the ritual burning of a homemade effigy of winter, which symbolizes the destruction of the old, dilapidated, decrepit world and make space for a new, younger, better.

Interesting video (in russian) about the celebration of Carnival in the past of Russia. The video uses the paintings of Russian artists and parts of the films  "The Snow Maiden" and "The Barber of Siberia". In one story, you will see the fights, which I will discuss at another time.