BellyfulTime (Alexandra Trifonova) The most joyful winter fest, Maslenitsa, features numerous names, along with “voracious week”, “fat Tuesday”, “pancake week”, etc. It’s time for real folk cuisine, when many authentic dishes appear on the table. To feed a bear Earlier, Maslenitsa was a celebration of the imminent end of winter; that was one of four major pagan holidays. It was considered, that the next day after the fest bears (which were treated as the incarnation of the central pagan god in the Slavic mythology) started leaving their dens, and spring came. Bears were fed with vegetarian food, like boiled giant mustard, oat jelly drink, and special pea bread, to gain their favor. The food was put on stumps in a forest and bears were called. Farewell to meat The last Sunday of the Maslenitsa week was called “meat”. That was time for cabbage soup and meat. In Kobrin region, the soup was made with fresh cabbage or sauerkraut, with mushrooms. The soup was served as the final dish, when all the guests had been already full. If the party was long, the soup was served even at 1 or 2am. This tradition is still alive. That was the day, when people in villages visited and invited each other to enjoy Maslenitsa together, while fathers-in-law called their sons-in-law to eat meat. Meat dishes were everywhere, on each table, cause that was the last day before the Lent when the meat was permitted. Further, for some short time, only pancakes, fish and eggs were allowed to eat. That Sunday was followed by Monday, when the first pancake was given to the beggars. Tuesday was the day of outdoor activities, followed by rich table. On Wednesday, sons-in-law visited their mothers-in-law to taste pancakes, and vice versa on Friday. Thursday was fat day, when everybody got rid of household chores and started celebrating all day long. Thursday was the day of commemorating Veles, the god of livestock. Eat a pie The number of festive pies (flans, shut pies, open-topped pies, curd tarts, etc) was even bigger than the variety of pancakes. Fish pie was the most famous, but there were pies with mutton, salty fat, chopped eggs. They were cooked using wheat flour; leavened dough was used to cook pies without stuffings, or topped with hempseeds. Another festive dish was drachena, a bun made of flour and eggs, dressed with melted button and sugar. Way to cheese Maslenitsa is actually a folk name of the fest. According to the church books and calendars, the holiday is addressed as the Cheese Week, because the church allows eating only cheese and milk, along with fish. For our ancestors, cheese actually meant curds. Curds were home-made, cooked from milk; it served as an ingredient to cook many tasty dishes. The most popular dish was pryazhentsy, small baked pies stuffed with potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage or curds. What to drink Sbiten, a hot drink made of honey and herbs, was served with pancakes and pies. In ancient Belarus and Russia, this drink substituted tea and coffee, with its energy and warming effect. It was sold at trade fairs with jokes and anecdotes. Besides, beer was a popular festive drink, though very heady. In times, when beer was brewed by state-own breweries, peasants were allowed to brew beer and honey drinks only four times a year (as a rule, for Easter, Dziady, Maslenitsa and Christmas). Though, it was not a easy thing to get a permission; only the most distinguished peasants could brew those drinks, only for three days. Rich Maslenitsa ended up on Clean Monday, or the first day of the Great Lent, when men used to rinse their mouth with vodka, to get rid of now prohibited food. Food expert Elena Mikulchik: in some regions of Belarus, the bread was cooked from potatoes. Small balls were formed from potato dough (with eggs, flour and salt) and baked. The baked bread was dressed with cracklings and onions. Oat kissel, or jelly drink, was a must-have meal on the festive table. It was served last, so often it was called like “chucker-out”. As a rule, the drink was served in plates; everybody had to eat it all. Years before black and green tea, our ancestors drank Chamerion tea (Rosebay Willowher). That drink was used to avoid hangover, to cure headaches and cold, to normalize digestion. Recent research show that this plant contains 5 or 6 times more ascorbic acid than lemons. Western analogue of the Belarusian Maslenitsa is Mardi Gras, beginning on or after the Epiphany or Kings day and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 10:36:24 +0000