Shrovetide week begins

With butter, honey, jam and sour cream. Orthodox Christians are celebrating Shrovetide week, the last week before Lent. Each of the seven days has its own unique traditions and carries a special meaning. The holiday has its roots in the distant past. It is believed that Shrovetide is associated with the day of the vernal equinox. The symbol of the holiday — crepes, which resemble the sun, which our ancestors endowed with divine properties. Maslenitsa is considered a harbinger of spring, as evidenced by the burning of the effigy — a symbolic embodiment of winter.