Maslyana Fest History
In the pre-Christian period the European nations celebrated the holiday of seeing off the winter and meeting the spring. Later this time was the last week before the Great Lent. This week Eastern Slavs and Ukrainians began to be called Maslyana fest. Within the holiday it was permitted to eat butter, milk and fish, as well as pancakes (the symbol of the sun) before the Great Lent.
Maslyana 2019 Celebration in Kyiv
The main events dedicated to the Maslyana 2019 will be held on Saturday and March 09-10 in Kyiv in the main ethnographic complexes and open-air museums.
Pyrohovo the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life invites the Kievans and guests of the city to "MASLENITSA. COLODIY" holiday. Here they will recreate the ancient rite of Kolodiy, who was considered by the ancestors to be the god of marriage, love, health and harmony. The action takes place on the territory of "Middle Dnieper region" exposition.
A variety of folk games await the visitors at the Spivoche Pole (Field of Songs): competitions on the beam, horseback riding, tug-of-war and other competitions. Folk bands will sing traditional songs there. Guests will be treated with delicious dishes: dumplings, pancakes and fruit compote. Craftsmen from all over Ukraine will offer their best products of decorative and applied arts. The rite of burning “Kostrubaty grandfather” (personifying the evil forces of winter) will be the culmination of the Maslyana festival at 16:00. The holiday usually ends at 17:00. Ticket price: UAH 50. When: March 9-10.
“ZAPALNA MASLYANA at VDNKh 2019” will be held On March 9 and 10 at the National Exhibition Center VDNKh . Guests will be treated with pancakes with a dozen different fillings on the street food court and in the warm “Bavarian yard”. 
Traditional themed games and contests will be held within the Maslyana festival, as well as gala concert and burning of the stuffed symbol of winter. Activities include tug-of-war, bag fights, and competitions of the shooting range, procession on stilts, master classes in forging of lucky horseshoes and others. Free admission!
"Feofaniya" park traditionally celebrates Big Maslyana festival. Here will be fun entertainment for children and adults, fighting with the bags, dances around the bonfire, animation program for children, competition for the most beautiful wreath or folk costume; creative workshops and a lot of pancakes for every taste.
In Mamayeva Sloboda they will celebrate the Kolodiy (Maslyana) with Ukrainian dumplings with curd, as the main Maslyana dish in Cossack Ukraine, contrasting them with the dominance of pancakes. The main slogan of the event is "Ukrainian dumplings against Russian" pancakes “. In the Cossack village everything will be exactly the same as a hundred years ago. Musicians and Cossacks will create a colorful atmosphere of Cossack Naddnipryanshchyna region. 
Folk festivities will take place both on the field and on Slobodskaya fairgrounds, where dumplings with cheese and “Teterya” Cossack porridge will be cooked in big boilers. Traditional pancakes with various fillings will also be served as well as mulled wine and cherry liqueur prepared at open fire. It will be possible to buy some traditional souvenirs there. Ticket price: UAH 120.
The Great Lent starts after Maslyana week. Take a chance to enjoy the tasty traditional Ukrainian food and celebrate Maslyana festival before the ascetic Lent.
Photos: depositphotos.com
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