Shrovetide is an ancient holiday that precedes Lent, which the Slavs began to celebrate, even before the adoption of Christianity from February 16 to 22. Then this celebration was associated with the day of the spring solstice, then they adopted Christianity and began to celebrate the holiday in honor of the beginning of the winter fast. According to custom, all meat dishes should be excluded from the diet this week of the holiday, so it was given the name cheese week. During this period, it was necessary to walk in a big way, prepare treats, have fun, otherwise the seven-week Maslenitsa fast 2015 follows.

Maslenitsa: post

The celebration also made it possible for the last time before a strict fast to cleanse oneself of sins, to take one's soul away, it was believed that if this was not done, then the whole year would pass in grief and trouble.

The most important dish that is prepared for Shrovetide is round pancakes.

From Monday to Sunday, this treat should be present daily in every home on the table. Another most important task is "Guesting" - a period when you need to visit guests and invite people to your home. It is customary to arrange a feast with a large number of treats, and most importantly, you need to eat as much as your heart desires, as the ancestors believed.

Previously, if there were bachelors in the family, they were even punished, because in the new year for Shrovetide they all had to be married. In modern life, of course, traditions remain - if the newlyweds have prepared a tasteless treat, then after they are taken out to ride on a sleigh, and then they are specially knocked over face down in the snow.

What does Shrovetide mean?

Scheduled days according to ancient traditions:

Maslenitsa on Monday

They begin to celebrate the holiday by making a scarecrow out of dry hay. He is dressed up in women's clothes and, singing cheerful songs, they ride on a sled around the village. Next, the stuffed animal was installed on some kind of hill, from where the sleigh rides took place. This is not only entertainment, but an ancient Slavic rite.

Tuesday

People have fun as they can: sledding, masquerade shows, theaters in fancy costumes, masks. It is also customary to visit guests, perform with them and feast. The bear show is a major part of the celebration. Trained predators portray ladies.

Wednesday

Pancake day. It is customary to bake them in every house, set tables and treat the people. They also brewed beer drinks, opened stalls on the streets where you can buy sbitni, honey treats. Here, in the fresh air, they are treated to hot tea from an old samovar.

Thursday

On this day of Maslenitsa, there is the height of fun. There are fisticuffs going on, games being played, having more fun than before. In a word, all the fun is just beginning.

Pyatnitskaya Maslenitsa

It is also called "Teschina party". From Thursday evening she had to prepare and send to her son-in-law's house everything that is necessary for making pancakes. After all, on Friday, according to custom, the mother-in-law should come and take treats, settle down. If she does not do this and does not respond to the invitation, then this is considered disrespectful to the son-in-law, and subsequently a conflict increases between both parties, which will last all year.

Saturday

On this day, young brides are obliged to host their relatives, as this day is commonly called "sister-in-law gatherings." Pleasant conversations take place, ditties are sung, poems are read, dance.

Sunday

On this day, they see off Shrove Tuesday by burning a scarecrow at the stake with all the remnants of pancakes and treats left over from the celebrations. This day is also dedicated to forgiveness. Each person must ask everyone for forgiveness, to which they must answer "God will forgive." Even in the evenings, many go to cemeteries and say goodbye to the dead at the graves.

Monday of Great Lent

On this day, Maslenitsa ends, it is also called Clean Monday. Men, according to custom, should go to the bathhouse, bathe in the sauna, while the female sex needs to wash all the dishes with the remnants of fatty foods, all this is done for complete cleansing from sins. Many people ask the question: “Why fast before Maslenitsa?” The answer to it is very simple - this is necessary for purification, the complete surrender of faith to God.

In the modern world, Shrovetide is celebrated, as before, with big festivities around the city, the village in painted clothes, jewelry, in a word, real Russian exoticism. Many foreign residents simply dream of getting to the great Russian holiday and taking a walk with all their heart, hitting the covers of historical magazines and newspapers. When Lent comes, then all the festivities stop, as this is strictly prohibited by tradition.

In the spring, all Orthodox believers expect such events as Maslenitsa, Lent and Easter. Maslenitsa is celebrated a few weeks before Easter before the start of the Great Forty Days of Lent. It is followed by Easter. Each of these church holidays has its own characteristics, historical traditions and religious significance.

Usually Maslenitsa is celebrated on a grand scale. From time immemorial, on this day it is customary to walk widely, dance, cook a lot of goodies and visit each other.

Immediately after the wild Maslenitsa week, Great Lent begins, calling for refraining from many passions. It aims to prepare believers for the day of Christ's Bright Resurrection - Easter. How many people know about these holidays? What is their meaning? How to follow the traditions correctly and why is Shrove Tuesday before Lent?

The last week before the strictest church fast falls on the feast of Maslenitsa. In another way, it is called the Cheese Week. According to church rules, the believer should already begin to prepare his body and soul for the upcoming abstinence during fasting, so a religiously true Shrovetide table should exclude meat products. Dairy food is allowed on Wednesday and also on Friday. During divine services these days, special prayers of repentance are read.

Maslenitsa is considered a holiday of the coming spring. It is good when relatives visit each other on this day and meet at the same table. The Church does not forbid having fun and giving joy to your loved ones. However, this holiday often acquires pagan overtones. Behavior such as overeating, gross entertainment, amusements, revelry and drunkenness do not correspond to the Orthodox tradition.

The true meaning of Maslenitsa is that all believers can reconcile with each other, asking for forgiveness for long-standing grievances and disagreements, thereby purifying their souls from sins. Therefore, at the end of the week comes. A person must come to spiritual purification through deeds.

Today, the church strives to preserve and defend the true Orthodox customs and traditions of the Maslenitsa holiday, although this is not so easy to do. Many people have entrenched distorted ideas about the holiday, they have a strong pagan spirit. This causes concern among the clergy.

Basic rules for observing Great Lent

After Maslenitsa, Great Lent comes - the time allotted for a person for spiritual renewal and repentance. Spiritual strength is expressed by personal immortality in Christ, therefore the rejection of abundant food and bread means drawing closer to God, the ability to control oneself and not allow the flesh to rise above the spirit.

There are certain instructions for fasting believers that will help them understand the purpose and meaning of fasting, as well as determine the true path for themselves:

Everyone knows how many days the strictest fast will last - exactly 40. But will there be enough will and strength to resist everyday temptations and not violate the ban on various bodily restrictions? Each believer must answer this question for himself.

Fasting is the great art of temperance. By learning to subordinate his flesh to the spirit, man learns to refrain from committing sins.

Meaning of Easter and Easter Week

As soon as the merry Maslenitsa ends and the most difficult fast is left behind, the Bright Sunday of Christ, or Easter, begins. The meaning of Easter is to remind believers of the miraculous resurrection of Christ. The main symbols of the holiday are painted eggs, Holy Fire, Easter cake.

The date of Easter is movable and is determined according to the lunar calendar, but it necessarily follows two significant events: Maslenitsa and Great Lent. Shrovetide prepares the Orthodox believer for the upcoming trials for the soul and body. And seven-week abstinence during fasting makes it possible to repent and come to spiritual purification. It was seven weeks that Jesus appeared to his disciples, and after that he ascended to heaven to God.

During the Easter service, special solemn prayers are read in the church. Parishioners must take communion on this day, exchange words praising the resurrection of Jesus, and perform the rite of Christ-giving.

Every winter in all Slavic countries it is customary to celebrate Maslenitsa - the last week before the harsh Great Lent, which is the most important and responsible for Christians. The main task of this period is to prepare the soul and body for Easter. Believers remember the last days of Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness. Here the Savior prayed and fasted for 40 days before the crucifixion, showing the disciples that spiritual and physical cleansing give a person a chance for eternal life after death.

Shrovetide traditions

In Rus', this event has always been considered a fun holiday. After Maslenitsa, Lent lasted as much as 48 days, so the believers tried to enjoy the last moments filled with the ordinary joys of life: delicious food and mass festivities. The people spent these days in a noisy, happy and triumphant atmosphere: housewives baked pancakes with cottage cheese and meat fillings, young people rode on troikas of snow-white horses ringing with bells, old people drank tea from samovars, and the children dressed up in mummers and amused people all day long.

Despite the jubilant mood, the church has always turned to Christians with a request not to lose their heads and conscience during the festivities. According to the priests, Maslenitsa is the best time for prayers, charity and good communication with loved ones. Lenten services were already beginning in churches: the faithful attended liturgies, the main purpose of which was to direct sinners to the path of repentance.

Preparing for the post

As in ancient times, today it requires a competent approach and special seriousness. Fasting after Maslenitsa is very long, therefore, in order not to harm the body from a sharp restriction in nutrition, nutritionists advise to arrange fasting days for yourself the day before. For example, experts recommend a smooth transition to vegetarian food. It is better to celebrate Maslenitsa on Monday and Tuesday, after which the gastrointestinal tract should be prepared to give up fast food. On Wednesday, you can exclude meat, on Thursday, remove dairy products from the menu, on Friday - fish dishes, on Saturday - alcohol. Following these simple recommendations, on Sunday you will be fully prepared for the beginning of the post.

At the same time, one should not forget that pregnant and lactating women, young children, the elderly and hard-working workers should not give up their usual diet. Having learned when fasting begins after Maslenitsa, physicians are developing a lightweight menu for patients with diabetes, anemia, as well as people who have problems with the immune system, stomach and intestines.

Peculiarities

How long is the fast after Maslenitsa? His time frames are always the same: 48 days, less than 7 weeks. The first 40 days are called Forty Days, which ends on Lazarus Saturday - it precedes Palm Sunday. After it comes Holy Week - the last pre-Easter week, during which fasting is the most strict and difficult.

If you decide to comply with food restrictions in accordance with all the recommendations of the church, first evaluate the strength and capabilities of the body. Firstly, for young people who need an increased amount of strength and energy, vegetarian food will not be enough for a full life and activity. Secondly, the gastric juice intended for the digestion of meat products will remain out of work and will actively corrode the organ. Therefore, it is better to refuse the complete restriction of animal proteins. Thirdly, Russia is a northern country, fasting usually falls on a period of severe frosts and cold weather. Caught in the winter without a full-fledged, dense food, the body can be greatly weakened.

Nutrition

During Lent, you should refuse meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, including mayonnaise, ice cream and yogurt. Sweet pastries and any sweets, alcoholic beverages, including beer and wine, are also prohibited. On the biggest holidays - Palm Sunday and the Annunciation - you can diversify the menu with fish. In addition, on all Saturdays and Sundays, the use of seafood, cheese and wine is allowed - in small quantities. On Friday of the last week, you should completely abstain from food.

As you can see, fasting after Maslenitsa is characterized by a rather meager diet, the deficiency of which is protein. Based on this, nutritionists advise replenishing its reserves with lentils, beans, peas and soy. Make more vegetarian salads, love cereals. Remember, a raw food diet is not only cabbage and carrots. These are also cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, dried apricots, raisins, nuts, exotic fruits: bananas, papayas, mangoes, avocados and so on. Buy crackers and dryers, mushrooms and canned corn, make kissels and decoctions.

Balanced menu

To make it so, use all herbal products without exception. They contain essential substances: iron, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene, vitamins C, B, E and K, dietary fiber. The rules for fasting after Maslenitsa state a complete rejection of animal products. Despite this, you can replace them with cereal nuts - they have a lot of proteins and carbohydrates. As for vegetables, fruits and berries, they will become a source of minerals and vitamins.

Lent after Maslenitsa should be as rich as possible. To balance the menu, read about the composition of various products: you will understand that they are interchangeable. For example, potatoes are rich in starch, rose hips and peppers are famous for their large supply of vitamin C, cranberries are the main supplier of benzoic acid, Jerusalem artichokes are inulin carbohydrates, etc. Plant foods are also very useful: they contain pectin substances that bind and remove from the body harmful toxins. It also stimulates the secretion of digestive juices and normalizes bowel function.

Leaving a post

It should not be forgotten either. What post after Maslenitsa? The answer is obvious: very strict and lengthy. Therefore, when various delicious sausages, cakes and fatty delicacies appear on the Easter menu, hungry Christians simply pounce on them, risking indigestion or other health problems.

To prevent this from happening, do not rush to lean on appetizingly smelling and pleasing dishes. Otherwise, your body will receive the most powerful nutritional shock: in recent weeks, it has become accustomed to working in conditions of “increased savings”, so it will not withstand the load. By the way, the surge in emergency ambulance calls always falls on Easter.

Nutritionists advise not to get involved in pork and Easter cakes. A small piece of cottage cheese Easter, a handful of muffins and two chicken eggs - this is all that you can afford to break the fast. Remember: there is a whole week of celebrations ahead, so you still have time to fill your stomach to the eyeballs.

Doctors have their own recommendations on how to gradually return to normal nutrition. So that the post after Shrovetide ends safely, in the first few days they advise to refrain from eating chips, crackers, nuts, straws, carbonated drinks, strong tea and coffee. Postpone also “for later” savoring fatty fish: herring, roach, mackerel. No need to eat heavy cream, butter, cream products.

If you cannot resist grabbing various delicacies from the table, do not forget about special preparations that help improve digestion. Drink at least two liters of water per day: it helps to cleanse the body. Do not forget that walking around is good, but moving in the fresh air is even better. Therefore, in between meals, visit the gym, take walks, play outdoor sports games with friends. Good sleep and yoga will also smooth out the unevenness of the rehabilitation period as much as possible after a long abstinence.

Our ancestors called the time after Maslenitsa a period of spiritual purification and prayer. Fasting was an impetus that directed Christians on the path of a pious and righteous life. They spent a lot of time thinking about the essence of good and evil, learned morality, tried to become more honest and disinterested.

Interestingly, the use of refined white flour during Lent was considered a great sin at the beginning of the 20th century. Indeed, unlike whole grain bread, rich in amino acids, vitamins and fiber, it was considered an absolutely empty and even harmful product. At the same time, unrefined flour was banned for sale during the Soviet era. Such a product was popular for making Easter dishes: they tried to survive along with the spirit of the holiday, which was also under severe taboo. Despite this, people learned how to get out of a difficult situation: instead of flour, they used milled rice. As a result, such healthy dishes as sochivo and kutya have lost their healing and dietary significance for the health of the Russian people.

On Monday, February 27, Orthodox Christians begin Lent, which will last until April 16. On these days, believers are required to abstain from food and entertainment. If you decide to fast, it is important that you do so without compromising your health. What is needed for this, TASS was told by Ksenia Selezneva, Ph.D.

How is fasting observed today?

Fasting according to the canons of the monastery implies strict and complex rules: on some days you can only eat raw food without oil, and on some you should refuse food altogether. But few of the modern people living in the world can afford it. As a rule, clergy treat this with understanding, noting that the most important thing is spiritual abstinence. Churched people most often fast as they were blessed by a particular priest. And yet, most fasting people usually eat hot dishes with vegetable oil. Some allow themselves to fish.

How to prepare for the post?

According to Orthodox tradition, Great Lent is preceded by a preparatory period. In the last week before Lent (Maslenitsa falls on it), meat cannot be eaten at all, and on Wednesday and Friday before Shrovetide, all non-fast foods must be abandoned. As Yulia Panova explains, from the point of view of nutrition, this is an excellent preparation: the body gradually gets used to the fact that for a long time it will do without animal protein. And, of course, we must remember that overeating pancakes will not lead to anything good. But if you cook pancakes on buckwheat flour or flour with bran, they will be less harmful. “The main thing is not to start fasting at 00:00 on Monday,” says Panova. “You don’t have to eat sausage before going to bed for the last time.”

To whom is fasting contraindicated?

The Church exempts from abstinence in food pregnant and lactating women, the sick, as well as those who are engaged in hard physical labor or due to circumstances cannot provide themselves with constant food (military personnel, prisoners, travelers). Nutritionists add: you should not fast even if you are already recovering, but are weakened after illness or surgery.

What is forbidden to eat while fasting?

Meat, milk, eggs, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, animal butter, rich bread and pastries fall under a complete ban. At the same time, the food should be simple, the use of exquisitely prepared lenten dishes is condemned.

What can you eat?

Vegetables, fruits, cereals, legumes, mushrooms, on some days - fish. It is not necessary to completely abandon flour products, but they should contain only water, flour and salt. Sweets are allowed, such as dark chocolate (no milk added), honey and sugar. Sometimes you can drink red wine.

How to avoid hunger and lack of vitamins and minerals?

“Many people remove animal products from the diet during fasting, and leave everything else as it was,” says Yulia Panova. - This approach will definitely lead to problems. If you decide to fast, you need to review the entire diet. First of all, you need to get enough plant-based protein (found in legumes), ideally in combination with complex carbohydrates. For example, rice with beans and vegetables will give you a feeling of satiety for a long time. But it is better not to satisfy hunger with fruits: too much fructose will be a strong burden on the body. Nuts and seeds will help to avoid a lack of fat. And you can always use protein mixtures, as well as foods enriched with iodine and iron.

Is fasting a good way to lose weight?

Just the opposite. From a nutritional standpoint, depriving yourself of animal protein is the worst way to lose weight. “Our muscles are protein,” explains Ksenia Selezneva. - If the diet lacks animal protein for a long time, you will really lose weight, but it is due to muscle tissue. This is unhealthy, wrong from the point of view of nutritional weight loss. For the same reason, it is dangerous to fast for a long time (and strict fasting involves fasting on separate days). The body has many compensatory capabilities, and at first it will take energy from the fat mass. But after some time it will switch to muscle tissue.

How to get out of a post?

The biggest mistake you can make is to eat boiled eggs for breakfast, steak for lunch and fishcakes for dinner on the very first day after fasting. Ksenia Selezneva warns: it will be difficult for the body to digest this, and such immoderation threatens with big problems with the stomach and intestines, to the point that hospitalization may be needed. “Colleagues with the ambulance say that on Easter they have an increased number of calls: after abstinence, people throw themselves into all serious trouble, and this ends in terrible pain,” Selezneva warns. It is necessary to return animal protein to the diet gradually, at first using it once a day. In three or four days it will be possible to afford it twice.

After the celebration of Maslenitsa is over, Lent begins. This is the strictest and longest of all fasts in the Orthodox tradition. We decided to find out when Lent begins in 2018, what is its essence and how to eat right during Lent.

When does Lent begin?

So, in 2018, Lent began on February 19, and ends seven weeks later - on April 7, 2018. On April 8, believers will celebrate Easter, the Bright Resurrection of Christ.

The main purpose of Great Lent is preparation for the great Christian holiday - Easter. Where did the tradition of Lent come from? According to the Bible, the Spirit led Jesus Christ into the wilderness. Here the devil made a lot of efforts to tempt Christ. This test lasted forty days, during which Christ did not eat anything. The last week of Great Lent is called Holy Week.

Lent is not just a diet. It is also important to think about the soul. During this period, the Orthodox remember the last days of the earthly life of Christ, reflect on the torment and suffering he endured.

Great Lent consists of several parts. The first 40 days are called the Forty Days. The strictest rules in fasting apply to Holy Week - six days before the Easter holiday.

Nutrition during Lent: basic rules

There are several rules that believers adhere to in nutrition. Of course, you can not eat any food of animal origin (it includes meat, milk, eggs, cheese).

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week of Great Lent, the rules allow an exclusively raw food diet. Food can only be eaten cold and without oil. And on these days of the week, food should be taken only once a day - in the evening. On Tuesday and Thursday of each week of fasting, it is also customary to eat once a day in the evening. But these days it is allowed to take hot food, although without oil.

On Saturday and Sunday fasting is allowed some relief. You can add a little vegetable oil to your food. You can eat twice a day. Even some red wine is allowed.

During Holy Week, after which Lent ends, special dietary rules also apply. On Saturday, for example, they do not eat at all. On the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, if it does not fall on Holy Week, believers can eat fish. In addition, fish dishes can be eaten on Palm Sunday.

Do's and Don'ts of Eating During Lent

The Church allows children, old people and sick people not to fast. Everyone else who has decided to fast should look for dishes in advance. The main food, of course, are vegetables. Nutritionists advise not to forget about legumes to make up for the protein deficiency.

With vegetables, you can cook various dishes from different cereals that will help you stay full. Buckwheat, millet, bulgur and other cereals are suitable.

Another source of protein is mushrooms. Based on them, there are many delicious and healthy dishes. In Lent, you can eat fruits and sweets without animal products. These include, for example, oatmeal cookies, some waffles and gingerbread.

Other Rules for Lent

As we have already noted, Lent is not just a diet. Believers should pay more attention to prayer, pay attention to worship, read the Psalter and the lives of the Saints. The purpose of holy fasting is to reflect on the spiritual side of your life. Any good deeds during this period will also benefit.