A special holiday is Forgiven Sunday: strict prohibitions, omens
March 2 is Forgiven Sunday, the last day of Maslenitsa in 2025
From February 24 to March 2, Russia celebrates the ancient Slavic holiday of Maslenitsa. Since it has pagan roots, with the establishment of Christianity in Russia, the Church tried to actively fight it. Nevertheless, the celebration has been preserved and is celebrated with fun in all corners of the country.
Presumably, earlier Maslenitsa was celebrated during the vernal equinox, because it meant that spring was finally coming into its own, replacing winter. This is one of the versions of the appearance of the holiday. According to another story, our ancestors worshipped the god Veles, who was the patron saint of fertility and agriculture. To honor and appease him, they prepared treats and performed various rituals. According to another opinion, cows began to calf at the end of winter, and butter was made from their milk, which meant prosperity in the family. They also made sure to cook pancakes, which symbolized the Sun.
After the baptism of Russia, the Church struggled with manifestations of pagan traditions, but Maslenitsa still continued to exist. In the 18th century, the confrontation stopped and the holiday entered the Orthodox culture of Russia, but under a different name. Cheese Week is the week before Lent, which began to be a celebration. At this time, believers begin preparing for 40 days of abstinence in food and completely abandon meat and meat products.
Each day of the Carnival week has a different name and traditions. From Monday to Wednesday there is a so—called narrow Carnival:
- Monday is a Meeting. On this day, the Slavs devoted all their efforts to preparing for future festivities.: ice slides were built, carousels were installed on squares in the center of the town and the main symbol of the holiday was made — an effigy of Maslenitsa, which was then impaled on a stake and driven through the streets. The housewives also started baking the first pancakes;
— Tuesday — Games. All the events organized by the Slavs on this day became an occasion for young boys and girls to get to know each other: the grooms were looking for brides and vice versa. At the same time, they could start planning a future wedding;
— Wednesday is a treat. It was believed that on this day you need to taste as many goodies as possible. Pancakes were baked in a wide variety, and all relatives gathered at home. There were scenes at fairs about a mother-in-law making pancakes for her son-in-law.
A Wide Carnival began on Thursday:
— Thursday — Go wild. On this day, people started walking in the morning, and the fun ended late at night. The entertainment was very diverse: taking a snowy city, fist fights, roller skating and much more;
— Friday — Mother-in-law's evenings. On the eve of this day, the son-in-law invited the mother-in-law home. On Friday, she came to visit, always bringing treats to the table;
— Saturday — Sister-in-law's gatherings. On this day, the young daughter-in-law was hosting guests. If the sister-in-law had not married yet, then free girlfriends were invited, otherwise married couples came.
The last day of Maslenitsa is Forgiven Sunday. The fun has come to an end, and then Lent begins, which will last in 2025 from March 3 to April 19. At this time, it is customary to put up with abusers and the offended. On the evening of the Forgiven Sunday, people always go to the temple, where a special rite of forgiveness is held. It is important to note that in the church tradition the term Forgiven Sunday is not used, the name is a folk one.
As noted by Yulia Nadekhina, Candidate of Historical Sciences, associate professor of the Department of Theory and Organization of Management at GUU, after the festivities, people sought evening prayer at the church, and then to relatives and friends to ask for forgiveness for "voluntary or involuntary offenses" in order to enter Lent pure and sinless.
The liturgy in the church on this day has several features. There is an excerpt from the Gospel, where the following words of Jesus Christ are quoted: "If you forgive people their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses."
At the morning liturgy, the clergy wear white robes, and in the evening, during the rite of forgiveness, they wear black mourning robes. At the same time, the decoration of the temple also changes, because the service takes place in the dark. After the sermon of the abbot, the clergy ask for forgiveness from the parishioners and from each other, then the faithful do the same in front of the clergy.
The tradition of the rite of forgiveness goes back a long way. It originates in ancient Egypt, when hermits went to the desert for 40 days before Easter. At the same time, they knew that they might not survive all the trials in store for them. The day before, they asked each other for forgiveness for all the insults, and they themselves released them to the others.
— Nevertheless, the term "Forgiven Sunday", according to historians, is most likely related to farewell, and forgiveness-apology is a later tradition. Slavs began the new year in March, and the Carnival farewell is designed to sum up the results of the outgoing year," adds Yulia Nadekhina.
What can and cannot be done on Holy Sunday
Forgiveness Sunday has various customs and prohibitions. Some of them are ecclesiastical, and some are folk and are associated with Maslenitsa.
— The traditions of paganism and Christianity are closely intertwined in our modern holidays. At the pre-state stage of development, nature was the main object of worship for many peoples. Pagan beliefs have reached us in the form of sayings, jokes, fairy tales and customs," says Yulia Nadekhina.
Sunday is the most important day of the whole Carnival, and we have been preparing for it since Monday. People collected firewood and branches to light a fire, decorated houses, planned various games and much more. According to the interlocutor of Izvestia, all the villagers and townspeople participated in traditional amusements: riding on carousels and three horses decorated with bells and colorful ribbons. There were a lot of sports competitions: tug of war, walking on stilts, bag wrestling on a log, fistfights.
The main component of the day is the burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa, a large straw woman who was made on Monday and rolled down the slides, greeted cheerfully and carried on a sleigh. On Sunday, so-called "funerals" were held. The burning of Maslenitsa symbolized the farewell to winter, the rebirth of the world and the arrival of spring. At the same time, people gathered around the scarecrow and had fun.
Depending on the region, the traditions of the day could vary. So, in some places, people did not burn, but buried or took the effigy apart. Somewhere there was no straw woman at all: our ancestors harvested wood for a large bonfire during the week, which was called the burning of Maslenitsa.
The custom of burning a straw effigy has been preserved to this day. This is done all over the country on the last day of Maslenitsa. However, there is a version that the festivities used to take place on Saturday, and Sunday was allocated to prepare for Lent, spending the day in peace and with family.
Since Forgiveness Sunday coincides with Shrovetide, the prohibitions of both holidays apply to it.
There are no strict taboos on March 2, but there are still some restrictions. For example, it is not recommended to engage in heavy physical labor, including housework. This is prohibited only so that household chores do not distract from the holiday and church attendance.
But you can't quarrel with people, slander them, or insult someone. Also, it will not be possible to get married on this day: weddings in churches are not held throughout the entire Carnival. The next day in 2025 when the couple will be able to tie the knot is April 27.
Maslenitsa continues to be celebrated to this day by organizing fairs, workshops, performances, and burning an effigy. On March 2, Moscow will host the final day of the Moscow Maslenitsa Festival, which takes place at various venues in the city: VDNKh, Manezhnaya Square, Tverskaya Square and others. There you can see performances by folklore groups, participate in contests, taste pancakes, and lead round dances. You will be able to have fun on the weekend before 21:00 this Sunday.
What do they say to each other on Forgiveness Sunday: what to say, what to answer
Apologies become an important part of the day. Traditionally, they start with the words "forgive me," and in response they usually say "God will forgive, and I forgive!" However, there are no clear rules, it is allowed to ask for forgiveness in another way. The main thing is that apologies should be sincere and from the heart, otherwise they do not carry any meaning and value. You need to ask for forgiveness not only in church, but also in everyday life, through messengers or social networks. The church does not forbid this method, although it advises you to do it personally.
As Olga Lykova, a lecturer at the Moscow Institute of Psychology, a psychologist in CBT methods, explains, forgiveness helps to remove the burden of the past, get rid of pain and gain inner freedom. It becomes easier for a person, there are forces to move forward and restore relationships.
It often happens that it is very difficult to ask for forgiveness, because the pain is still alive. In this case, the psychologist explains that this action does not necessarily have to lead to reconciliation.
— To forgive means to remove emotional attachment to a traumatic event. It does not require interaction with the abuser and does not oblige to restore the relationship. Reconciliation is a mutual process in which both sides realize their mistakes and are ready to resume communication. Thus, it is possible to forgive a person, but not to want further communication with him," says the expert.
She also draws attention to the fact that forgiveness does not exclude the need to protect oneself and set boundaries, nor does it oblige one to maintain a relationship with someone who has caused pain. Sometimes the best solution may be to forgive and stop contacting the person if the interaction with them continues to be harmful.
If you are not mentally ready to forgive a person, you should say so, explain that you do not have the strength to do so. If a person strives for peace within himself, one must seek the strength to forgive.
Forgiven Sunday: customs and omens of March 2
As mentioned above, the main task of the day is forgiveness. People try to settle old differences and forget their grievances. Burning an effigy of Maslenitsa is also a significant tradition. Due to the fast coming the next day, all the half-eaten pancakes were thrown into the campfire.
— While preparing the children for Lent, the parents, throwing a pancake into the campfire, said: "The pancakes, butter, and milk have burned, and you can't eat them anymore, but you can borrow," says Yulia Nadekhina.
They tried to scatter the ashes from the Maslenitsa effigy across the field. It was believed that this would bring a rich harvest.
There were other traditions, signs and beliefs of the day:
— visit to the sauna. It was believed that in this way sins could be washed away;
— if it was clear outside and the sun was shining brightly, then the summer would be hot and the grain harvest plentiful;
— snow or rain on Forgiven Sunday promised a lot of mushrooms;
— it was not worth getting off the table so that the family would remain in prosperity;
— if the pancakes prepared by a young girl turned out to be ruddy and with smooth edges, expect her a speedy and happy marriage.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
