What you can and can't eat on Shrovetide 2026: the rules of Cheese Week
Shrovetide Week is a time of abundant treats and delicious pancakes. In 2026, it will be held from February 16 to 22, and this is the last opportunity for believers to enjoy dairy products before Lent. Our ancestors called this week Cheese week, because meat was excluded from the diet during this period, gradually preparing the body and soul for strict fasting. What is allowed to put on the table on Shrovetide and how to bake pancakes correctly — in the Izvestia article.
Maslenitsa 2026: why you can't eat meat
Maslenitsa, or Cheese Week, is the week of transition before Lent. The church charter gradually introduces restrictions so that believers get used to a more modest diet. The meat is removed first, then the milk and eggs. This approach helps the body and soul to gently enter Lent, which starts on February 23 in 2026.
What you can eat on Shrovetide: permitted foods
According to church rules, the following is allowed during Cheese Week:
— dairy products: milk, cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, butter, kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt;
— eggs in any form: boiled, fried, baked;
— fish and seafood;
— all kinds of cereals, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, dried fruits;
— bread, pastries, porridges with milk;
— sweets: jam, honey, gingerbread.
Pancakes are the main dish. They are baked daily from wheat, buckwheat, oatmeal or even pea flour. Toppings — cottage cheese, sour cream, honey, jam, caviar, fish, mushrooms, cheese. In the old days, meat fillings were no longer used during Shrovetide, but villagers sometimes allowed themselves to eat pancakes with meat until Wednesday. However, the church did not encourage this.
What not to eat on Shrovetide: strict prohibitions
The main prohibited product of the Cheese Week is meat and everything made from it. Starting from Monday, meat products are completely removed from the table. This applies to:
— any meat (beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, duckling, etc.);
— sausages, sausages, ham, smoked meats;
— meat broths, soups, jelly, jelly;
— products with meat additives (dumplings, pies, semi-finished products).
Alcohol is allowed in moderation, but getting drunk is not recommended. Maslenitsa teaches joy without gluttony. It is also advisable not to overeat: food should please, and not burden the body before fasting.
Pancake day table: how the ancestors cooked
Our ancestors held a real feast on each of the days of Maslenitsa, taking into account folk and church traditions.
On Monday (the Meeting), the first pancakes were baked. They were given to beggars or placed on the windowsill for the deceased. They served a ruddy treat with honey, sour cream, and cottage cheese.
On Tuesday (the Games), sweets appeared on the tables: pancakes with jam, nuts in honey, lollipops. The young people treated the guests to attract good luck in love.
On Wednesday (Dainty), the son-in-law went to his mother-in-law. The table was full of pancakes with expensive fillings: caviar, salmon, grainy cottage cheese, sour cream. Pies, dumplings, porridge with butter were also prepared.
On Thursday (Razgulyai), a real "belly feast" began: pancakes of all kinds, fried fish, cheesecakes, pies with fish and mushrooms. Everyone was treated on the streets — hot tea and pancakes were distributed to passersby.
On Friday (Mother-in-law's evenings), the son-in-law treated his mother-in-law. An abundance of pancakes with caviar, fish, sour cream and honey reappeared on the table.
On Saturday (Sister-in-law's gatherings), the daughter-in-law prepared pancakes and sweet treats for her husband's relatives. It could be sweet pies, compotes, pancakes with jam and honey.
On Sunday (Sunday Forgiven), they ate everything that was left: the last pancakes were baked for the memory of the dead, distributed to the poor. After sunset, they didn't eat dairy anymore: the fast was beginning.
Folk signs related to food
Folk signs have always occupied a special place in Maslenitsa traditions. Our ancestors considered pancakes not just a treat, but a symbol of the sun, prosperity and the coming year. According to how the pancakes turned out, how they looked and how many of them remained after the festive week, they guessed about health, harvest, family well-being and even personal fate.
The first pancake baked on the Monday of the Meeting was considered the most important. If it came out lumpy, uneven, or burnt, it foreshadowed bad luck, minor troubles, or even illnesses in the family in the coming year. On the contrary, if the first pancake turned out to be thin, delicate and rosy, like the sun, it was a very good sign — to health, an easy life and good luck in all matters. An even golden pancake promised material prosperity and well-being, but a pale, almost white one, without an appetizing crust, warned of possible problems in the family, quarrels or coldness in relationships.
There was a strict rule: pancakes should never be cut with a knife. It was believed that a knife "cuts" happiness and can lead to quarrels, family discord or even divorce. Therefore, the pancakes were always torn off with their hands or stacked entirely — this way the integrity and harmony in the house were preserved.
Another important omen concerned the cooking process itself: if the hostess did not bake pancakes at all on Shrovetide, this was considered a very bad sign. The whole year could pass without joy, in despondency and need. Therefore, even in the poorest homes, they tried to bake at least a few pancakes.
Pancakes were used to tell about the weather and the harvest. If the pancakes turned out to be lush, thick and rose well, the summer promised to be warm and fertile. If they came out thin and fragile, they waited for a cold summer and crop failure.
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