Celebration

Everyone I know likes to celebrate holidays, and I am no exception. One of my favorite holidays is Maslenitsa. The English translation for this holiday is Seeing Off Winter or Pancake Week. This holiday is celebrated in my home country of Belarus, as well as Russia and Ukraine.

Maslenitsa takes place at the end of February. The celebrations go on for seven days. Throughout the week Belarusians, Russians and Ukrainians say goodbye to winter and get ready to welcome spring. On the weekend, concerts are held in the main squares of all cities. Artists sing traditional folk songs and play pranks. The locals participate in different competitions such as running in bags, tug of war, and pancake eating contests. On the street, local artists make large impressive snow sculptures of famous cartoon characters, animals, houses, etc. Parents usually take their children to see them. The children are often more interested in climbing on snow figures than looking at them.

The most important tradition of this holiday is to make and eat pancakes either in the morning or early afternoon. Pancakes symbolize the sun and the warm weather to come. People gather with relatives and friends both at home and in the main city squares to eat. Pancakes are the main dish on the table. Usually on this day, my husband, children and I visit my parents. My mom prepares the most delicious pancakes. She makes them with jam, sour cream, caviar, and honey. We eat pancakes with great pleasure and talk.

Maslenitsa is a very cheerful and positive holiday. Everyone has a great time celebrating the long-awaited spring with their loved ones.