Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa
Maslenitsa, Boris Kustodiev, 1919 (Isaak Brodsky Museum, St. Petersburg)
Also calledButter Week, Crepe week, Cheesefare Week, Syropust, Kolodiya, Masnytsia
Observed byEastern Slavs
Mostly Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian diaspora communities
TypeEthnic
SignificanceSeeing off winter, last week before Great Lent
CelebrationsMaking blini (crepes), making visits, sleigh rides, dressing up, bonfires, snowball fights, the capture of the Snow Fortress, burning of the Maslenitsa Scarecrow
In Ukraine and Belarus: eating varenyky with cottage cheese
2023 date20 February to 26 February
2024 date11 March to 17 March
2025 date24 February to 2 March
FrequencyAnnual
Related toMardi Gras

Maslenitsa (Belarusian: Масленіца; Russian: Мaсленица; Rusyn: Пущаня; Ukrainian: Масляна or Масниця), also known as Butter Lady, Butter Week, Crepe week, or Cheesefare Week, is an Eastern Slavic religious and folk holiday which has retained a number of elements of Slavic mythology in its ritual. It is celebrated during the last week before Great Lent; that is, the eighth week before Eastern Orthodox Pascha.

The date of Maslenitsa changes every year, depending on the date of the celebration of Easter. It 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.

The traditional attributes of the Maslenitsa celebration are the Maslenitsa effigy, sleigh rides, and festivities. Russians bake bliny and flatbread, while Belarusians and Ukrainians cook pierogi and syrniki.