After 3 or even 4 coldest months of waiting ever the SPRING is coming!
Yesterday was the 1st day of Maslenica, i.e. Maslenichnaya Nedelya, which basically means that people eat Russian pancakes bliny for the whole week until the very end of it. The highlight of the holiday will be on Sunday which is also called Proshenoe Voskresenie when everyone asks for forgiveness and eats bliny with spoonfuls of caviar washing it down with vodka. Those who have seen Sibirskii Cirulnik or "The Siberian Barber" know perfectly well what I'm talking about. Its an old Russian tradition!- we like to exclaim here. It all ends up the next day when the post (fast) starts. Maslenica means the end of winter and informally stands for the beginning of desirable spring. Its my favourite holiday and not only because I have a sweet tooth and adore Russian Bliny but also because, to my mind, its the only True Russian Holiday preserved since the old times when all people lived and celebrated it in villages. It still has the same flavour and the same idea which makes it extra special and loved.
Apart from lots of food to eat and lots of Vodka to drink we have all kinds of true Russian entertainments like going around the city in a troika (a team of three horses tied together), singing/dancing in a crowd of people, riding in snowmobile along the Volga river and burn the dummy represanting the winter which is also an old Russian Tradition. One of the most important conditions of spending the holiday accurately in the old Russian style is being out celebrating it, better with friends (the more friends the better!)
Have fun cooking bliny either this Saturday or Sunday! If you'd like a recipe I'd be glad to post one.
I also like this time of the year because of holidays going in a row. Although St Valentine's isnt really our holiday and the Orthodox actually have their own love holiday in July its still very nice to have it accepted and celebrated here. I personally enjoyed it a lot and am very thankful to someone special who has made that day very special and unforgettable:)
We also have two the so-called gender-holidays. There's one celebrated on 23d of Feb which is the so-called Men's Day (although originally its the day of Krasnaya Armiya establishment) and another one is the 8th of March which is the Women's Day (its also of some Soviet origin somehow connected with Russian feminism).
Love holidays!
Am looking forward to the time when snow will melt finally and I wont have to dress up like a snowman:( or even worse a snowwoman:(( Wish me luck and patience!
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2 comments:
Hello,It´s your spanish friend. Well,I read all the post but I don´t understand everything...What about the bliny stuff???mmm...how does it taste?i cannot imagine...Besides vodka,bliny and caviar,...are there more interesting foods?And tradicional costumes?
I would like seeing some photos of those celebrations...if possible...It sounds interesting...
what do you think is the main teaching of war of the worlds?
Hasta la vista!
Hola!
Haha:) well, if you even dare to think there's no more other delicious Russian meals you're either badly informed by someone who is Frech or simply havent been to Russia yet, which is SHAMEFUL!;)
So Bliny are actually pancakes cooked in a special way, i.e. with lots of butter, milk, eggs, meat, love;) - with everything you'll be bereft of for the next few weeks!
Blin is the symbol of Sun as any yellow round thing is in any world religion/culture.
There's a hint I like to add - half-glass water/milk and vanillin... Hmm my departed grandmother liked to cook them in a true Russian stove (pechka)...Mmmm! That was delicious! Tasted much better than those sold in the street:(
I'll try to post pictures but not sure if it'll work.
Buenas!
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