On Wednesday, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law for pancakes. There is even an expression in Russian “to your mother-in-law for pancakes.” The newlyweds on this day dressed as they did at the wedding. On the same day, young unmarried boys and unmarried girls rode down the mountains.

It is interesting that the whole village made fun of the guys who were unlucky this year and did not have time to get married, coming up with various kinds of “punishments”, from which the young guys paid off with treats - pancakes and sweets. But the most important event of this day was still the visit of the son-in-law - “to his mother-in-law for pancakes.”

Wednesday at Maslenitsa is called gourmet

“Gourmet” opened treats in all houses with pancakes and other dishes. In every family, tables were set with delicious food, pancakes were baked, and beer was brewed in villages.
The expression “To the mother-in-law for pancakes” also preserves an ancient tradition, when on Wednesday of Maslenitsa week mothers-in-law were invited to eat pancakes with their sons-in-law and their wives, hence the name of the Wednesday – “gourmet”. Mother-in-law's pancakes are, as usual, a whole feast. The mother-in-law will bake a whole mountain of pancakes: milk pancakes, with sour cream, with caviar, with herring, with mushrooms, with strawberry or raspberry jam, with honey - just listing these dishes can make you choke on saliva.
It is worth noting that in ancient times there were more than 200 pancake recipes in Rus'. And each of them was a kind of culinary masterpiece.

Considering that in the old days, Russian families on average had 5-10 children, it is not difficult to calculate what a colossal amount of work the mother-in-law had to do in order to feed at least five (or even more) sons-in-law along with their relatives. Of course, her daughters helped her with this.

Young girls also baked pancakes and took them outside so that the boys, future grooms, could appreciate their culinary skills.

Tin-tank,
Bring me the blink
Pancake increase,
Butter piece!
Mother-in-law, don’t be stingy,
Share the butter pancake!

Maslenitsa - day three - delicacy, revelry.

On the third day of Maslenitsa, the people moved from daring and cheerful “flirts” to eating Maslenitsa dishes, which is why Wednesday was called “gourmet”.

On this day, mothers-in-law invited their sons-in-law for pancakes, and so that they would not be bored, they called all their relatives.

On Maslenitsa, much attention was paid to the newlyweds. As tradition required, they had to dress up, go out to people in painted sleighs, and pay visits to those who were attending their wedding.

Oh you, dear Maslenka,

Darling, leli, darling!

She came to visit us,

She came, she came, she came!

Yes, I brought cheese and butter,

She brought it, she brought it, she brought it!

And we took Maslenka for a ride,

Let's ride, ride, ride!

They rode on a black horse,

We rolled, we rolled, we rolled!

Pancake recipes.

Guryev pancakes.

Wheat flour – 400g.

Eggs – 8 pcs.

Butter – 200g.

Sour milk

Mix the flour, 8 yolks and butter thoroughly, dilute with sour milk to the proper thickness, then add 8 whipped whites to the dough. Mix everything and start baking pancakes.

Buckwheat pancakes.

Two glasses of buckwheat flour

Two and a half glasses of warm milk or water

30g yeast

Salt to taste

Dilute the flour in warm milk or water, adding salt and yeast diluted in a small amount of water, put in a warm place for 3-4 hours. When the dough has risen, carefully bake the pancakes without stirring. Serve with butter, caviar, sour cream.

Lenten buckwheat pancakes.

Buckwheat flour – 3 cups

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Yeast – 30g.

Stir flour with warm water, add diluted yeast and let rise. When the dough has risen, dilute it with hot water and bake pancakes in the usual way.

Buckwheat pancakes with wheat flour.

Buckwheat flour – 1 cup

Wheat flour – 1 cup

Yeast – 30g.

Eggs – 3 pcs.

Sour cream – 1 glass

Milk or water

Salt to taste

Mix wheat flour, part of the milk or water and yeast, put on the dough. When it has fermented, add buckwheat flour, sour cream, salt to taste, yolks, dilute with the remaining milk, mix everything well, add the whipped whites,

stir again carefully and start baking pancakes in a hot, greased frying pan.

Buckwheat pancakes with eggs.

Buckwheat flour – 9 cups

Wheat flour – 3 cups

Eggs – 6 pcs.

Vegetable oil – 4 tablespoons

Yeast – ¾ cup

Mix the flour together, add 3 cups of the mixture, brew with boiling water, mix everything well and let it brew.

Then add the rest of the flour, eggs, butter, diluted yeast, dilute with warm water thicker than for pancakes, beat and let rise. As soon as the dough rises, start baking pancakes.

What do we associate with Maslenitsa week? Well, of course, with pancakes - hot, rosy, delicious and always with noisy fun. And although today troika riding is rather exotic, and celebrating for seven days is an unaffordable luxury, people have still preserved the traditions of Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa calendar

The Maslenitsa holiday has pre-Christian roots, and was previously celebrated on the day of the spring solstice.

It's Maslenitsa, damn it's bringing honey

And now every year the date when Maslenitsa week begins changes depending on the celebration of Easter and the Lent preceding it.

The strictest fast for Christians lasts seven weeks. If you subtract these 49 days from the date of Easter, you get the final day of Maslenitsa week - Forgiveness Sunday. Accordingly, the previous days, starting from Monday, are holidays.

When does Maslenitsa start in 2016? Bright Sunday of Christ falls on May 1, we take away the seven weeks of Great Lent - March 13 and will be the final of the Maslenitsa week, Forgiveness Sunday. Maslenitsa will begin on March 7th.

That is, Maslenitsa week always precedes Lent.

In the Orthodox Christian calendar, Cheese Week is the week on the eve of Lent. Meat dishes are already excluded from the diet, fish and dairy are allowed.

The folk traditions of Maslenitsa are associated with plentiful food, visits, and merry festivities, with each day of the week being celebrated in a special way.

Maslenitsa was celebrated on a special scale - from Thursday to Sunday. If in the first three days it was still possible to manage the household, then from the middle of the week work was canceled, and Maslenitsa festivities gained momentum.

Day one - Meeting

Maslenitsa week begins on Monday - the meeting of Maslenitsa. Young people and children built a scarecrow from straw, dressed it up and rolled it around the village on a sleigh with funny jokes, then set it up on a high hill. They rode off it, and whoever rides further will grow taller and thicker flax.

On this day, young people also gathered in company and went from house to house singing, and the housewives treated everyone to freshly baked pancakes.

On this day, it was customary to prepare supplies so that there was enough for everyone - they baked pancakes, pies, rolls, and pancakes. The first pancake had to be given to the poor so that they would remember the dead.

Fathers-in-law came to visit the matchmakers and discussed how to celebrate Maslenitsa over a glass. By the day of the holiday, it was already necessary to prepare ice slides, booths, and other places for festivities.

Tuesday - Flirting

The fun has been gaining momentum since Tuesday: that’s why he’s playing. The people were entertained by buffoons and mummers, bear fun and puppet theaters were held. Maslenitsa week is unthinkable without sleigh rides, especially troikas.

And the main thing that flirting served was matchmaking. While having fun together, the guys looked closely at the girls, choosing candidates for the role of wife.

The girls also didn’t waste time, looking closely at the gentlemen and making eyes at the ones they liked. And after the end of Lent, weddings took place.

Wednesday - Lakomka

The familiar saying “to your mother-in-law for pancakes” arose thanks to the tradition of the third day of Maslenitsa week. Caring mothers-in-law prepared a rich table and invited their sons-in-law to taste the treats. Pancakes were served with butter, sour cream, honey, and preserves. Many families brewed beer and treated guests to the intoxicating drink. They treated not only sons-in-law, but also numerous relatives.

In the cities, market stalls sold hot tea from a pot-bellied samovar, aromatic sbitni (a honey drink with spices), gingerbread, and roasted nuts.

Take a walk - happy Thursday

By Thursday, Maslenitsa week was already gaining momentum. From young to old, everyone gathered for mass celebrations. We had fun with fist fights, capturing snow fortresses, songs, buffoon fun, and swing rides.

Entire sleigh trains drove through villages and towns to the cheerful noise, laughter, and ringing of bells. And of course, not only pancakes, but also other goodies were devoured with gusto.

Friday - Mother-in-law's party

You had to thank your mother-in-law for pancakes in a special way - invite your mother-in-law to visit you. The son-in-law was supposed to personally call his second mother the day before, and numerous relatives also gathered for this feast.

But the mother-in-law had to send dishes for pancakes and everything necessary for baking them to her son-in-law’s house in the evening. The father-in-law sent, as usual, buckwheat and butter. And if the son-in-law tries not to follow the tradition, eternal enmity with his father-in-law and mother-in-law is guaranteed. So customs were honored and respected.

Sister-in-law's get-togethers on Saturday

This day was difficult for the young wife - she was supposed to invite her husband's sisters-in-law for a hearty meal. Other relatives of the husband also came to appreciate the master's talents of the newly-made wife.

It was customary to invite one’s girlfriends to join the husband’s unmarried sisters, and if the husband’s sisters already had families, then the daughter-in-law invited only married friends.

In addition to a generously laid table, custom also prescribed that sisters-in-law should be given gifts. But if everything went well, then the young mistress was guaranteed honor and respect. And often - friendly relations with sisters-in-law.

At these shows, guests even appreciated how the wife looked at her young husband and how she kissed him. After which the satisfied relatives went to other houses.

Forgiveness Sunday

Forgiveness Sunday, Forgiveness Day, Farewell, Kissing Day - this was the name of the day that ended Maslenitsa week. An effigy of Maslenitsa was burned on a large bonfire; the ceremony was accompanied by songs, dances, round dances, fun and sleigh rides. In this way they said goodbye to winter, making way for the coming spring.

Let's pay our respects at the cheese shop on Sunday

We made sure to ask each other for forgiveness, so that we could leave all grievances in the past and enter Lent with a light heart and a clear conscience.

Modern Maslenitsa

We, unlike our ancestors, can no longer allow ourselves to have Maslenitsa week last all seven days. The rhythm of life is different, and traditions change over time. But nothing stops us from inviting each other to visit, preparing delicious treats, visiting the sick and helping the disadvantaged.

Today, cafes and restaurants always have a Maslenitsa menu - if you are a very busy person and don’t have time for home baking, you can always enjoy pancakes.

On weekends, holiday festivities are traditionally held, where, if possible, the atmosphere of past years is recreated with cheerful booths, snowy towns (if the climate allows), competitions and games.

In the traditions of Orthodox Christians, Maslenitsa week is a preparation for Lent. This is a good time to devote to charity, good deeds, and calm communication with loved ones. And necessarily - reconciliation and forgiveness of offenses.

In churches, during services, a special rite is performed, when both clergy and parishioners ask each other for forgiveness and cleanse their souls on the eve of a difficult test - Lent.

Like during Shrovetide
Pancakes were flying out of the oven!
From the heat, from the heat, from the oven,
All blush, hot!
Maslenitsa, treat!
Serve everyone some pancakes.
In the heat of the moment, take it apart!
Don't forget to praise.

Wednesday called " Gourmand" The main tradition of the third day is “mother-in-law pancakes.” Mothers-in-law should feed their daughters' husbands well. The son-in-law came “to his mother-in-law for pancakes,” and to cheer him up during the meal, other relatives were invited to the house.
Wednesday opened pancakes in all homes, regardless of income. Each family set tables with all kinds of treats. On this day you need to eat as much as your soul accepts, hence the saying “It’s not life, but Maslenitsa.” Fairs were held everywhere, and folk festivals took place.

And today I’m indulging in pancakes in a pancake flash mob.
The main difference between pancakes and pancakes is that they are fluffy, thick, oilier and small in size - about the size of your palm.

So again, two recipes:

Kefir pancakes.

An almost perfect recipe from Oksana (Ksyu) Putan’s website about Russian cuisine.
500 ml kefir
350 g flour (this turned out to be too much for me, I put 300)
1 egg
1-2 tbsp. Sahara
1/2 tsp each salt and soda
100-150 ml plant. oils for frying (do not put in the dough)

Mix, the dough is quite thick, stand for 15 minutes, spoon out the dough with a tablespoon or a little more, fry in a hot frying pan with fairly high sides, a pancake pan most likely will not work, and the oil will flow down the edges. Fry over a slightly higher than medium heat in a large amount of oil, not quickly, otherwise the thickness may not be cooked through. Fry the first side until the color of the dough changes above the middle of the height and the edges dry out, and then turn over to the second side.

Amazing pancakes! If it were not for the pancake shape, it tastes like good donuts - fluffy, buttery on top and with a slightly crispy crust. From half the dough I got 10 large pancakes.

And the second interesting recipe

Pancakes with apples

Flour - 500 g (I again found a lot of flour, the dough turned out almost like pies, I had to dilute it a little with water, so you put 400 g first, you can always add more)
Yeast - 7 g dry
Salt - 0.5 tsp.
Sugar - 3 tbsp.
Chicken egg - 2 pcs.
Butter - 50 g
Milk – 400 ml
Apple - 3 pcs. remove small peels.
Vegetable oil - 50 ml for frying

Knead the dough until it becomes quite thick. Leave for an hour and a half covered in a warm place; I placed it close to the pan with just cooked soup. Make sure the dough rises. Then add fresh apples cut into small cubes (do not overdo it, the volume of apples should be three times less than the volume of the risen dough), mix carefully, and leave covered for another 20 minutes. After this, you can bake, but try not to stir too much so that the dough does not fall off, just take a portion with a spoon and put it in the pan.

In this case, pour less oil than in the first one, but still have enough oil; with pancakes the same trick as with pancakes in a dry frying pan will not work!

From half the norm I got this many pancakes, well, I also devoured a couple while I was posting them))) Do you see how fluffy they are?

Amazing recipe! Apple cubes give an unusual taste with sourness, juicy and refreshing. I really liked it!!!

The Maslenitsa holiday is for us like carnival for Italians. Moreover, translated from Italian, “carnival” means “beef, goodbye!” And Maslenitsa, which precedes Lent, has long been called “Meat Empty”, since it was forbidden to eat meat during this week.
For the Slavs, Maslenitsa, celebrated on the day of the spring equinox, was also a New Year's Eve for a long time! After all, until the 14th century, the year in Rus' began in March. Even pancakes, an indispensable attribute of Maslenitsa, had a ritual meaning: round, rosy, hot, they were a symbol of the sun, which was burning brighter, lengthening the days. And according to ancient beliefs, it was believed that as a person greets the year, that’s how he will be. That is why our ancestors did not skimp on this holiday with a generous feast and unbridled fun. And people called Maslenitsa “honest”, “broad”, “gluttonous”, and even “ruiner”.

By the way, at one time Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich tried to calm down his daring subjects using the strictest measures. The governors sent tsarist decrees to towns and villages, either prohibiting private distillation, or demanding that Russians not gamble or engage in fist fights. But neither the formidable royal decrees nor the instructions of the patriarch were able to cope with the overflowing joy. But in 1724 in St. Petersburg, Maslenitsa was not a success. Peter, a well-known lover of all kinds of entertainment, intended to organize a funny sleigh procession in the new capital, but there was a blizzard and severe frost throughout the holiday week. For several days, participants in the procession in costumes and masks arrived at the gathering place, but, having become numb along the way, they went to visit someone to warm up. Alas, the elements won, the fun failed.

On the occasion of her coronation, Catherine II, imitating Peter I, organized a grandiose masquerade procession called “Triumphing Minerva” in Moscow during Shrovetide Week. A masquerade procession traveled around the city for three days.

Over time, “skating fun” in cities improved. Wooden slides with elegant pavilions began to be erected on the ice of the river or in squares. The slides were decorated with multi-colored flags, spruce and pine branches, even wooden sculptures.

In St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century, the mountains of the merchant Podoznikov were famous. They were built on the Neva opposite the Senate and reached 26 meters in height. By the way, skiing from the city mountains at that time was paid and cost a penny. Near the icy mountains there was a brisk trade in hot sbiten, tea from smoking samovars, sweets, nuts, pies and pancakes. The audience in large booths was amused by buffoons and the beloved folk hero Petrushka.

In villages where booths never existed, the residents themselves became protagonists in an unusual battle - the capture of a snowy town. Having gathered, they together built a fortress out of snow with intricate towers and gates. Most often they placed it on the ice of the river and cut through the middle with wormwood. Then the participants of the game were divided into two parties. Horsed daredevils besieged the fortress, and its defenders fought back with snowballs, waved twigs and brooms, scaring the horses. The winner who broke through the gate first was faced with a test: he was forced to swim in an ice hole.

But the most beloved and beautiful Maslenitsa ritual was sleigh rides. Everyone who had a horse rode out, and assorted teams raced through the streets: the rich sported sleek trotters and painted sleighs covered with a carpet, followed by peasant horses, polished to a shine and decorated with colored ribbons.

And who is serving pancakes to your son-in-law (if he has one) today?