Shrovetide

Shrovetide

  Maslenitza (Shrovetide) comes as one of the biggest festival in our huge country. It continues from Monday till Sunday. It can be celebrated at the end of February or at the beginning of March.

     This celebration symbolizes the ending of the hardest season — winter, and the «daylight» of spring, when this season really enters into force.

     This holiday has pagan origins. During the festival people go to see each other, children play winter games, burn scarecrows, which symbolize winter force; this act means that everybody sends winter away and invites spring to come as soon as possible. During these days, people should keep the diet and should not eat any kind of meat, but they are going to eat much butter, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese and lots of pancakes.

       Lent goes after Shrovetide, it is the most stringent and longest holiday, it continues 7 weeks. During this period of time people avoid overeating, especially fat meals, meat and entertainments.

      People must be hard-working, pray with repentance, clean their inner peace, and have courage to change themselves and to be better than before.

Vocabulary:

huge огромный
to continue продолжаться
to symbolize символизирует
the hardest тяжелый, суровый
daylight рассвет, дневной свет
pagan языческий
origin происхождение
to invite приглашать
diet диета (пост)
sour cream сметана
cottage cheese творог
Lent Великий пост
stringent строгий
to avoid избегать
overeating переедание
fat жирное
entertainment развлечение
to work hard усердно работать, много работать
to pray молиться
repentance покаяние
to clean очищать
inner peace внутренний мир
courage храбрость, мужество

Questions:

1. When can Shrovetide be celebrated?
2. What does this celebration symbolize?
3. What kind of origins has this holiday got?
4. What do people usually do during this holiday?
5. Should people keep a diet during these days?
6. What does Lent mean?

Quiz

Maslenitsa

1.      When can Maslenitsa be celebrated?

a.       At the end of January or at the beginning of February

b.      At the end of February or at the beginning of March

c.       At the end of March or at the beginning of April

2.      At Maslenitsa Russians say goodbye to….

            a. autumn                 b. spring             c. winter

3.      Russians celebrate this holiday….

a.       a week after Lent

b.      a week before Lent

c.       two weeks before Lent  

4.      What do people usually do during this festival?

a.      people watch lots of TV

b.      people don’t go to work

c.       People go to see each other  

5.      A typical Maslenitsa meal is……

a.      shashliki       b. pancakes      c. crisps

6.      At Maslenitsa Russians burn……

          a wooden doll      b. a straw doll    c. their old clothes