This week in Russia is Maslenitsa, or the Pancake Week, our equivalent of the Brazilian carnival. The only difference is that there are no dark-skinned girls in bikini dancing samba on the streets, as it is too cold for this kind of exercise this time of the year.
Committed Orthodox Christians don't eat meat anymore, but focus on fish and vodka to prepare themselves for the Lent which starts on Monday. Children ride horses. People, mostly women, cook pancakes and invite guests to help them eat them. Those who are culinarily challenged and cannot cook pancakes, mostly men, go visit their friends and mothers-in-law to help them consume them. Russian pancakes are bigger in size and thinner than British-American pancakes. And we don't eat them with maple syrup, but with sour cream, condensed milk, or jam. They may be stuffed with caviar or whatever is available in the fridge. They are washed down with hot tea or cold vodka. Ok, ok, I made it up. Pancakes are not washed down with vodka. Not normally. Not under age 16.
Today is the apotheosis of the week - the Forgiving Sunday. Everyone in Russia - everyone who knows the tradition - will say or send an SMS message saying Prosti menya (Forgive me). The answer will always be Bog prostit, i ty menya prosti (God will forgive you, and you forgive me). In old good times this Mardi Gras, or rather Sunday Gras, was preceded by the Punch-Throwing Thursday on which men would engage in barefist fight. Today we prefer watching television at home instead of engaging ourselves in this nice creative outdoor activity. Alas, another good tradition is gone.
Tomorrow, as I have said, is our Ash Wednesday, or rather Ash Monday. And today... Please, forgive me!
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