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Slavic carnivals are known under different names in various Slavic countries: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; . They are traditional Slavic festivals related to the period of
carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...
.


Sirni zagovezni in Bulgaria

''Sirni zagovezni'' (also called ''Sinitsi'' and ''Sirni pokladi'') takes place seven weeks before
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
. The celebration takes place on Sunday, as that was the day of Christ's resurrection. Believers go to (Orthodox) Church early in the morning. Traditionally, the children ask for forgiveness from their parents, just as the parents ask the same of their grandparents. The youngest people ask for forgiveness from the oldest, then the elders ask for forgiveness from those who are younger. According to tradition, participants wear masks and celebrate the carnival at home. It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness (the coming of spring).


Kukeri

Kukeri (; singular: kuker, кукер) are elaborately costumed
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n men who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. Closely related traditions are found throughout the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
(including
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
and the
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
). The costumes cover most of the body and include decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and large
bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
s attached to the belt. Around New Year and before
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
, the kukeri walk and dance through villages to scare away evil spirits with their costumes and the sound of their bells. They are also believed to provide a good harvest, health, and happiness to the village during the year.


Masopust in the Czech Republic

Masopust or the time of carnivals used to be in the past the period from the
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...
until
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...
. A Lenten period begins on Ash Wednesday before Easter. A fancy dress fun which is held as a rule on the Lenten Tuesday is the culmination of Masopust. The name carnival is a synonymous word to the name masopust, but currently the name masopust is used for marking the carnival festivity. Masopust and especially the few last days of this period (fašank, končiny) was an official holiday of feasting for people in the past. During these days people were supposed to eat one’s fill, therefore, huge dinner parties were held. Then, the forty days long Lent followed and mostly lentils, baked potatoes, eggs, cheese, and boiled semolina were consumed. In some regions, such as , , and Hlinecko, a ceremonial procession of masks is a part of the festivity which goes through a village with music. In many places liquor, eggs, ham or doughnuts are collected and are consumed later on in a pub during a village party. In the same processions, serious attention is given to a dance, mainly, to the ceremonial dances of young men who are called "bobkovníci" or "Turci". During the party other ceremonial dances are performed. These are called "na len" or "žabská". In many other localities the festivity is held without these ceremonial components. There is only the presentation of masks left and it is a form of rural popular amusement which is connected with one particular date. The word fašank is created from mangling the German word Fasching which carries the same meaning. The word carnival comes from Roman languages, exactly from the connection of the words carne (meat) and vale (leave). This word formation describes the situation when the meat is already eaten and there is nothing left. Another interpretation might be hidden behind the Latin words "carrus navalis", which means a ship of Fools.


Zapusty in Poland

The
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
carnival season includes
Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportuni ...
(Polish: ''Tłusty Czwartek''), when ''
pączki (; : , ; ; Old Polish and ) are filled doughnuts found in Polish cuisine. Description A ''pączek'' is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened ball and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. ''Pączki'' are usually cover ...
'' (doughnuts) are eaten, and ''Śledzik'' (
Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...
) or Herring Day. The Tuesday before the start of Lent is also often called ''Ostatki'' (literally "leftovers"), meaning the last day to party before the Lenten season. The traditional way to celebrate Zapusty is the ''
kulig Kulig (sleigh rides) is an old Polish winter tradition dating back to the days of the szlachta (nobility). The kulig was a sleigh ride party organized among the Polish aristocracy. A cavalcade of horse-pulled sleighs and sleds went from one man ...
'', a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow-covered countryside. In modern times, carnival is increasingly seen as an excuse for intensive partying and has become more commercialized, with stores offering carnival-season sales.


Maslenitsa in Russia and Ukraine

Maslenitsa is an Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday, celebrated during the last week before Great Lent, that is, the eighth week before Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Easter). Maslenitsa corresponds to the Western Christian Carnival, except that Orthodox Lent begins on a Monday instead of a Wednesday, and the Orthodox date of Easter can differ greatly from the Western Christian date. According to archeological evidence from 2nd century A.D. Maslenitsa may be the oldest surviving Slavic holiday.Maslenitsa, Blin! The Food and Celebration of the Russians
By Josh Wilson, Newsletter, The School of Russian and Asian Studies, 9 March 2005.
Maslenitsa has its origins in the
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
tradition. In
Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...
, Maslenitsa is a sun-festival, personified by the ancient god
Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...
, and a celebration of the imminent end of the winter. In the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
tradition, Maslenitsa is the last week before the onset of
Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...
.''Maslenitsa''
by Margaret McKibben, Russian Folk Group of Seattle, WA, Seattle Community Network. undated.
In some regions, each day of Maslenitsa had its traditional activity. Monday may be the welcoming of "Lady Maslenitsa". The community builds the Maslenitsa effigy out of straw (из соломы), decorated with pieces of rags, and fixed to a pole formerly known as
Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...
. It is paraded around and the first pancakes may be made and offered to the poor. On Tuesday, young men might search for a fiancée to marry after lent. On Wednesday sons-in-law may visit their mother-in-law who has prepared pancakes and invited other guests for a party. Thursday may be devoted to outdoor activities. People may take off work and spend the day sledding, ice skating, snowball fights and with sleigh rides. On Friday sons-in-law may invite their mothers-in-law for dinner. Saturday may be a gathering of a young wife with her sisters-in-law to work on a good relationship. The last day of Cheesefare Week is called "Forgiveness Sunday" (Прощённое Воскресенье). Relatives and friends ask each other for forgiveness and might offer them small presents. As the culmination of the celebration people gather to "strip Lady Maslenitsa of her finery" and burn her in a
bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve. Etymology The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling i ...
. Left-over pancakes may also be thrown into the fire and Lady Maslenitsa's ashes are buried in the snow to "fertilize the crops".


Kurentovanje in Slovenia

Kurentovanje is one of Slovenia's most popular and
ethnological Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropology, so ...
ly significant carnival events. This 10-day rite of spring and fertility is celebrated on
Shrove Sunday Quinquagesima (), in the Western Christian Churches, is the last pre-Lenten Sunday, being the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and the first day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide). It is also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Quinquagesimae, Estom ...
in
Ptuj Ptuj (; , ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, eighth-largest town of Slovenia, located in the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria (northeastern Slovenia). It is the seat of the City Municipality of Ptuj, Municipality of Pt ...
, the oldest documented city in the region, and draws around 10,000 participants each year. Its main figure, known as ''Kurent'' or ''Korent'', was seen as an extravagant god of unrestrained pleasure and hedonism in early Slavic customs. In today's festival, groups of ''kurents'' or ''kurenti'' wear traditional
sheepskin Sheepskin is the Hide (skin), hide of a Domestic sheep, sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is Tanning (leather), tanned with the Wool, fleece intact, as in a Fur, pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Diction ...
garments while holding wooden clubs with hedgehog skins attached called ''ježevke'', the noise of which is believed to "chase away winter". In this way, the presence of ''kurenti'' announces the end of winter and beginning of spring. Being a ''kurent'' was at first a privilege offered only to unmarried men, but today, married men, children and women are also invited to wear the outfit. In 2010, the 50th anniversary of the first organized instance of this festival was celebrated. As the host of the festival, the town of Ptuj was admitted into the European Federation of Carnival Cities in 1991.


Zvončari in Croatia

Zvončari (the bellmen) is the characteristic folk custom maintained in the region around
Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. It was added to
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
in 2009. The custom dates to
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
antiquity, and remains typical for this region. The primary task of Zvončari is to scare away evil spirits of winter and to stir up new spring-time cycle. During the
Rijeka Carnival The Rijeka Carnival () is held each year before Lent (between late January and early March) in Rijeka, Croatia. Established in 1982, it has become the biggest carnival in Croatia. History About a century ago Rijeka lived its carnival life mo ...
time Zvončari march from village to village throughout the region, following the same centuries-old route, making an extraordinary amount of noise, fueled in part by the wine provided by the locals en route.


Busójárás in Hungary

The Busójárás ( Hungarian, meaning "Busó-walking"; in Croatian: ''Pohod bušara'') is an annual celebration of the
Šokci Šokci ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Šokci, Шокци, , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Šokac, Шокац, sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=, separator=" / ", Šokica, Шокица; ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native t ...
living in the town of
Mohács Mohács (; Croatian: ''Mohač''; ; ; ; ) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ''mъchъ'' (moss, Hungarian ''moha'' is a loanword ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, held at the end of the
Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...
season ("Farsang"), ending the day before
Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...
. The celebration features ''Busó''s (people wearing traditional masks) and includes
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
, masquerading,
parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...
s and
dancing Dance is an art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire of movements or ...
. Busójárás lasts six days, usually during February. It starts on a Thursday, followed by the ''Kisfarsang'' (Little Farsang) carnival on Friday, with the biggest celebration, ''Farsang vasárnap'' (Farsang Sunday) on the seventh Sunday before
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
; the celebration then ends with ''Farsangtemetés'' (Burial of Farsang) on the following Tuesday (
Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...
or
Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...
). These traditional festivities have been inscribed on the
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
of the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
in 2009. Busó festivities at Mohács: masked end-of-winter carnival custom
Description and decision at the UNESCO's website. Accessed on 11 January 2013.


See also

*
Fat Thursday Fat Thursday is a Christian tradition in some countries marking the last Thursday before Lent and is associated with the celebration of Carnival. Because Lent is a time of fasting, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday provide the last opportuni ...
*
Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...


References


External links


Polish Festivals and Traditions
{{Authority control Eastern Orthodox Christian culture Belarusian traditions Bulgarian traditions Carnival Czech traditions Polish traditions Russian traditions Serbian traditions Slavic holidays Slovak traditions Ukrainian traditions Slavic culture