From Feb. 24 to March 1, Russians celebrated Maslenitsa, possibly the oldest Slavic religious and folk holiday.
Also known as “butter week” or “pancake week,” Maslenitsa is a way to welcome spring by eating pancakes, which represent the sun.
The name Maslenitsa dates to the 17th century, when the festival was officially recognized by the Russian Orthodox church. Before that, it was a pagan festival. It used to have a pagan name, “Komoyeditsa,” which means “feeding bears.” “Kom” is an old Russian word for “bear,” the sacred animal of Slavs, and according to one theory people would offer them pancakes when they woke from their winter hibernation.
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照片：路透
At the beginning of the week the community builds a female effigy of Lady Maslenitsa out of straw. This is paraded around the area. The final day is a day of forgiveness, in which people ask relatives and friends to forgive them. The celebration ends with the burning of the Maslenitsa effigy to symbolize the imminent end of winter.
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
俄羅斯人在二月二十四日至三月一日過「謝肉節」，這或許是斯拉夫民族最古老的宗教與民間節慶。
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謝肉節亦稱為「奶油週」或「烤薄餅週」，人們吃代表太陽的薄餅，以迎接春天的到來。
謝肉節名稱「Maslenitsa」之由來，始於十七世紀俄羅斯東正教教會對該節慶的正式承認。它原為異教節慶，名為「Komoyeditsa」，意思是「餵熊」。「Kom」是古俄文，意為「熊」。熊是斯拉夫民族的神獸，其由來有一說是認為，熊自冬眠甦醒後，人們會拿薄餅餵熊吃。
在這為期一週的節慶之始，居民用麥桿紮成草人「馬斯列尼察女神」，在附近遊街。節慶最後一天是寬恕之日，人們請求親戚朋友的原諒。謝肉節的慶祝活動以焚燒女神草人畫上句點，象徵冬天即將結束。
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（台北時報林俐凱譯）
Photo: Reuters
照片：路透
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