This is the summary of the 'Maslentisa Festival, a Great Event to Celebrate' from our Webzine SIILKROADIA VOL.4.NO.1. To find out more, please download the Webzine. 

"A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people;" that is what Mahatma Gandhi said concerning national identity. And today, we'll talk about a true pearl of Slavic national culture-the legendary Maslentisa holiday. 

Pre-Christian, pagan peoples would celebrate the vernal equinox (March 21-22) with celebrations of spring and the rebirth of nature, and the return of the sun's warmth. For the later Christians, the holiday came to mark the week before Great Lent, giving everyone a last chance to enjoy food and fun before the fast. Quoting the paragraph of Shubnaya, Maslentisa is not just a week of merrymaking, but a whole step-by-step procedure to prepare oneself for long and exhausting fasting, which, if observed properly, maybe a real challenge.

The traditions of Maslentisa are widespread in modern celebrations. On Maslenisa festival, there is a great variety of festive activities line arranging in the country. In Moscow alone, more than 500 events are planned every year to celebrate the Slovic folk holiday. And also, every year Moscow State Linguistic University gathers those students who are endowed with gifts of singing and dancing. and holiday events. 

Maslentisa has also made its way into the visual arts, such as the painting "Malentisa" by the Russian Painter B.M. Kustodiev. In literature, Russian writer A.N. Ostrovsky (1823-1886) even used a proverb that literally says "It is not always Mamslentisa for a cat" as a title for his play. 

As you can see, Malentisa plays a great role in Slavic Culture. Through this article, I hope that this celebration now becomes close and familiar to our readers.