We know that Yule, and Ostara are celebrated in many countries of the world. What about Shrovetide? Crepes, dumplings, stuffed with meat, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, farmers cheese, potatoes and berries, cheesecakes, a scarecrow, ribbons – are a primordially Ukrainian tradition.

Maslenitsa turns into Fastnacht, Myasopust, Leftovers, Crepe Week, Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras.

It is believed if you can catch a crêpe with a frying pan after tossing it in the air with your right hand and holding a gold coin in your left hand, you’ll get rich within a year.

France – Belgium – Switzerland

Shrovetide in France – Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, a fun national carnival. Fancy costumes, mysterious masks, crowds of people and festive processions! Crepes are complemented by soups, snacks, as well as pretzels, donuts and other sweets.

An interesting fact: the holiday should last all day, but it should not exceed the midnight!

If you continue to celebrate after 12 o’clock at night, it is believed that the souls of the celebrants will become the property of the devil.

Great Britain

The British also celebrate Fat Tuesday, but add the second name to it “Penitence Day”, although the main meaning of the holiday for many is not repentance, but to eat properly and have fun before fasting.

But we must pay tribute to the British – before the holiday they really go to church to repent of their sins.

Different parts of the UK have their own crepes traditions: in England – sweet crepes with powdered sugar and lemon juice

In Scotland, people make lean cakes.

The Scots consider baking crepes an important ritual in which all family members take part.

The very tradition of making crepes is somewhat similar to family-made dumplings in Ukraine – where someone is responsible for the dough, someone for the frying pan, someone for greasing crepes with oil. This tradition unites families and generations. The most spectacular event is the “crepes race”.

The tradition of racing reached the national level in the last century, although according to legend, one of the 15th century English women was to blame for everything, who did not have time to finish baking pancakes and rushed to the church right with a frying pan in her hands.

Everyone can take part in the crepe race, although in some places there is a limit on the number of participants for safety reasons. If you want to participate, bring an apron, a chef’s hat, a crepe pan and a pancake. To win, you will need to overtake everyone, simultaneously having time to turn the pancake over 3 times and without ruining its shape.

Another interesting tradition is the massive football game. So massive that the whole city plays it – the north side of the city against the south.

Italy – Spain – Portugal – Latin American countries

Like in France, colorful and large-scale carnival processions take place in these countries.

We celebrate Maslenitsa for 7 days, and these guys have fun for a whole month! The most important day for this month is the same Fat Tuesday.

The most famous carnivals take place in Rio de Janeiro and Venice.

An interesting fact: the tradition of wearing masks came to carnivals for a reason. The carnival is the most popular holiday and allows the poor to join the celebration along with the nobility. In order to really confuse all people and not give out who is who at the table, all people put on masks.

Germany – Norway

The most amazing thing about Fastnacht, the German Maslenitsa, is no gluttony and food abundance. The menu includes pancakes, special flour soup and pies.

Shrovetide carnivals in Germany are not quite ordinary: for example, going to the “Procession of Spirits”, the Germans spend the winter in the guise of ghosts, witches, devils, jesters and all kinds of characters from children’s fairy tales. Halloween rests. Hundreds of devils, trolls, goblins, yeti and other evil spirits take to the streets of German cities. The procession starts before the dawn, so you can imagine how creepy it all looks.

The Norwegians also decided that food should be in moderation, and limited themselves to three days of feasting. From fat Sunday to no less fat Tuesday, you need to have time to eat as much fatty food as possible, apparently stocking up for the year ahead.

In Denmark, theatrical performances and concerts are held these days. And schoolchildren give each other gifts and letters without specifying the address. If the recipient of such a letter guesses the sender, then on Easter he can give him sweets.

Poland – Czech Republic

Polish communities celebrate a “Paczki Day.” Paczkis are closer to donuts, but the tradition is roughly the same

Many traditions are associated with unmarried women and men.

On this day, blintz and pancakes are prepared with a variety of fillings. On the last day of Maslenitsa, you can go to the tavern for a comic sale. By tradition, the violinist “sells” unmarried girls in tavern.

in the Czech Republic, the guys walk around the villages with their faces smeared with soot (so that they are not recognized) and carry a decorated wooden log “klatik” with them. Guys can hang it around the girl’s neck or tie it to the leg or arm, and in order to take it off, the girl must pay off.

It is even more difficult for young people, in Poland they will first be fed and watered, and then pulled by the hair. Be carefull! From food – crepes, donuts, pancakes and all kinds of sweets.

An interesting fact: if in Ukraine they burn an effigy, then in the Czech Republic, in honor of farewell to Myasopust, they bury a real double bass, symbolizing farewell to winter. During the “funeral ceremony” whole speeches are made about the sins of the double bass and his former life.

And in Greece, during these weeks, streets and houses are decorated with festive wreaths and garlands, fun carnivals are held in the cities, and wooden wands are sold in all shops, which in Greece are the main symbol of fun and Maslenitsa. In the kitchens of the Greeks at this time there is more meat than pancakes. For a holiday in this country, they choose the juiciest and most delicious meat, after eating it to satiety. And on Thursday they say goodbye to meat.

An interesting tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa among representatives of the Balkan countries. Bachelors are certainly seated in a pig trough and dragged down the street. The figure of a straw grandfather is placed on the roof of the house.

In Iceland, these days are celebrated with plentiful feasts. According to the new tradition, instead of pancakes, cakes with whipped cream and icing are prepared. Children wake up their parents early in the morning with a decorated whip, shouting the name of the cakes. How many times you shout – so many cakes and you get. The kids also love to walk down the street with songs, begging for cakes in bakeries.

In Armenia, a lot of pilaf is prepared for Maslenitsa and distributed to those who are poor and cannot afford delicious food.

Perhaps you will have a desire to celebrate the arrival of spring in one of these countries.