On Sunday, March 1st, people from Calgary gathered in Fish Creek Park to celebrate Maslenitsa.
Maslenitsa is one of the oldest Slavic folk holidays. Its main meaning is saying good bye to winter and welcoming spring. It lasts seven days, and kicks off 56 days before Orthodox Easter.
One of its main symbols is pancakes. Why so? Pancake was considered to be looking like Sun. So people believed that when eating pancakes they were gaining a part of Sun`s energy and its warmth. Traditionally, pancakes were being made every day during the holiday. Funny fact: any leftover pancakes were fire burnt on Sunday (the last day of Maslenitsa).
People gather together on Sunday to celebrate Maslenitsa. They share pancakes and have fun by doing some of the following activities:
pillow fighting, speed pancakes eating, singing, dancing, having a tug of war, squads competitions, trickle game, dance circles, and burning Maslenitsa on fire as a culmination of the celebration.
It was a great event to be a part of. Thanks to the organizers. Hope, it will be back next year!