Questions
Questions answered
Here are short answers to the questions that come up most often when people first take an interest in the Russian folk calendar: when each holiday falls, what to wear, which craft to try and how to pass customs on to children. If a short answer is not enough, follow the links to the detailed pages of the reference.
There is no single correct Maslenitsa. There is the one your family remembers, and the one you will create for your own children.
Holidays
Why does the date of Maslenitsa change every year?
Maslenitsa is celebrated in the last week before Great Lent, and the start of Lent is counted from Easter. Because Easter is a movable feast, Maslenitsa moves along with it, much like carnival or Shrove Tuesday in other countries.
When is Svyatki?
Svyatki (the Russian Yuletide) are the festive days from Christmas to Epiphany. In the New Style calendar this is 7 to 19 January. Folk tradition saw it as a time for visiting, carolling, mummers in costume and winter fun.
When is Ivan Kupala celebrated?
The festival falls on the night to 7 July in the New Style calendar, which corresponds to 24 June in the Old Style. It is a time of summer festivities, flower wreaths and round dances in the brightest days of the year.
What are zaklichki?
Zaklichki are short spring calling songs that children and young people used to summon spring, the sun and warmth. They were chanted out loud in the street, and for a child they are still a cheerful way to welcome spring.
Costume and crafts
What should I wear to a celebration if I do not have a full costume?
One striking detail is enough: a beautiful headscarf, an embroidered shirt or a sarafan over a light blouse. A folk celebration values the wish to take part, not the accuracy of a reconstruction.
What is the difference between a sarafan and a poneva?
A sarafan is a long pinafore-style dress with shoulder straps worn over a shirt. A poneva is a skirt made of several panels of heavy cloth, also worn over a shirt. Different areas wore one or the other.
Which craft is easiest to start with?
Many people start with embroidery or painting on wood: they need inexpensive materials and little space. Carving and pottery require tools and skill, so they are easier to learn in classes with an experienced craftsperson.
How should I store old embroidery and headscarves?
In a dry, dark place, not in tight plastic bags where the fabric cannot breathe. Change the folds from time to time so the threads do not wear through along the creases, and show heavily soiled pieces to a textile conservator.
Family traditions
How do I start talking to my elders about the past?
Begin with something specific: a photo, an object from a cupboard, an approaching holiday. The question "What was it like for you?" works better than a request to "tell me something about the old days".
Do I need to repeat a custom exactly?
No. Tradition has always changed along with people. Keep what matters to your family and what you enjoy, such as a song, a dish or a game, and feel free to leave behind what no longer fits today.
My relatives remember a holiday differently. Who is right?
Most likely, all of them. Customs varied from village to village and from house to house. Write down every version and note who told it: these very differences are what make a family archive come alive.
Can a non-religious family celebrate folk holidays?
Yes. Many customs are tied to nature and the changing seasons: seeing off winter, welcoming spring, summer festivities, giving thanks for the harvest. They can be celebrated as family occasions without any church meaning.
Read next
- Sections
The four themes of the reference: holidays of the year, folk costume, crafts and family traditions.
- Guides
How to record your elders' stories and build a family archive of customs: steps, mistakes, a checklist. Plus the article catalogue.
- Reference
Glossary: Svyatki, Maslenitsa, spring calling songs, Kupala night, harvest, kokoshnik, sarafan, poneva, painting, weaving.
- Kokoshnik (in Russian)
A note on the old address and the story of the kokoshnik: what this headdress is, what it was made of and where you see it today (in Russian).
Sources
- Ethnographic publications on the Russian folk calendar
- Encyclopaedic dictionaries of folk culture and everyday life
Customs are described in general terms as of the date this material was prepared. The same holiday was kept differently from village to village and from family to family, so what your older relatives remember may well differ from what is written here, and that is perfectly normal.