Cheesefare Week, Pancake Week, Butter Week, Shrovetide, or as the Russians more commonly refer to it, Maslenitsa, whatever you want to call it we’re in it now. Running this year from the 8th of February to the 14th, this relgio-folk holiday has its roots in both paganism and Christianity, and in Slavic folklore it’s a sun festival trumpeting the imminent arrival of spring. Symbolising the sun, Bliny, which are a type of pancake, are eaten EVERY day during the observance.
Superstition has it that if Maslenitsa isn’t celebrated with the right food and prayers asking for forgiveness, all followed by seven weeks of repentance then a year of misery will follow. Rural Ukrainians apparently take things a step further by punishing unmarried, and hence ungodly, locals by forcing them to walk around with a special boot tied to their legs.
Religious guff aside, though, bliny go rather well with a few spoonfuls of blackberry vinegar if you don’t happen to fancy the more traditional toppings of caviar, jam, butter, sour cream, or mushrooms. If you’re feeling ultra ambitious, forget the garnish and have a stab at beating Andrei Smirnov’s record of 73 bliny eaten in one hour . . . .
