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Peter Fogel

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Re: Today is the Pancake week!
3/9/2008 4:34:09 PM

Hi Lydia & All,

Well I see everybody has gotten into the spirit of Pancake Week. Shame it's the last day.

Question, is there any reason that Woman's Day is in the middle of Pancake Week?? :) Could it possibly be that they need a day off after preparing all those pancakes and fritters? :) :)

BTW, we call the blini's blintze's. Delicious and I love 'em.

Shalom,

Peter

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Lydia Fokina

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Re: Today is the Pancake week!
3/9/2008 5:17:45 PM

Hey Peter! Thank You for Your interest to Russian culture.

Maslenitsa - The Pancake Week is celebrated in different days in different years.
It is defined on Orthodox church calendar.
The Women's day in Russia has constant date - on March, 8th

Зимнее гулянье

Maslenitsa (Pancake week) is the only purely Russian Holiday that dates back to the pagan times. For seven days Moscow jingles with bells, sings with garmoshkas and glares with gaily-painted dresses. The people are letting the long-annoying winter out and the long-awaited spring in.

The counters in the Maslenitsa town are groaning with various dainties. There are the paunchy samovars with mellow tea, bunches of sweet-scented barankas, nuts and honey pies with different signs: "Whom I love - to those I give", "A present of the sweet-hart is the dearest". Salted foods, various fish, caviar - choose and eat anything however much you like!

But the essential elements, of course, are pancakes (blini). Pankacke is a symbol of sun. It is as round, gold and warm as the sun. Pancakes are served hot with either butter, or sour cream, or caviar, or mushrooms, or sturgeon - to any exquisite taste.

Where else can you take a horse-drawn sledge ride that will take your breath away? Or take a jaunty slip down an enormous ice slope? Or go round on a giant carousel? The Great Maslenitsa will reel you round in a dancing fairy-circle and your feet won't be able to keep still to the sprightly chastooshkas (gaily songs) and byword. Clowns and skomorokhs (histrions) will make you laugh to tears. The show goes on and on in the balagans (Punch-and-Judy shows) and theatres. And those who will not want to be simply a spectator can take part in the masquerade: to dress up beyond recognition or to muffle in a long fur coat and to drink a glass of vodka with a bear.

On the last day of the Great Maslenitsa the feasting and drinking ends up by burning down the scarecrow symbolizing winter thus saying goodbye to winter till the next year.

For the Russians Maslenitsa is like a carnival for the Italians, especially because the initial sense of festivals is the same: the Italian word "carnival" (carne-vale) means "farewell the beef!", and Maslenitsa that precedes the Great Lent, in old time was called "Myasopust" because it was forbidden to eat meat during this week.

The last day of Maslenitsa is called the Forgiveness Day. Everybody ask one another for forgiveness in order to redeem themselves from their sins before the Great Lent. They bow to one another and say, "God will forgive you". Maslenitsa is over and so is the winter giving way to the spring.

Everybody knows what the Russian Soul is! This is prowess, dare-devilry, and, of course, the famous Russian hospitality. Everybody is welcome to Moscow to see the Russian winter off!

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Peter Fogel

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Re: Today is the Pancake week!
3/9/2008 5:32:43 PM

Hey Lydia,

OK so no official connection between Womans Day and Pancake Week but there should be. Who prepares the pancakes??? I know that men do too but I'm sure it's mostly woman and they deserve the Womans Day after all those pancakes. :)

Shalom,

Peter

 

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Lydia Fokina

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Re: Today is the Pancake week!
3/9/2008 6:50:32 PM

Of course, Peter, most of all women cook in Russia.

But best culinares are men, are You agree?

Кулинар

And the way to heart of the man goes through a stomach, Russian saying

 

Отличному кулинару


But on March, 8th usually women are released from all house affairs and the meal is prepared by men

Все сделаю сам!


But pancakes on the Pancake week, certainly, bake women more often

Всем хороша!

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Peter Fogel

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Re: Today is the Pancake week!
3/9/2008 6:56:39 PM
Well Lydia I guess you deserve one day of rest from the kitchen. Hmmm, Of course you do! :)

Well known fact, the best Chefs in the world are men. Can't argue with that.

Shalom,

Peter
Peter Fogel
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