The winter had been long and cold in Russia. Just like her compatriots, little Anya was looking forward to the upcoming Maslenitsa, the celebration of the beginning of spring.
Maslenitsa was celebrated for a whole week and all the villages joined in. The streets were decorated with colorful ribbons and the smell of blini was everywhere. These delicious little pancakes are always baked in Russia, but in particularly large quantities for Maslenitsa.
Anya's family also followed the tradition. The little girl was stirring the dough when a question popped into her head: "Mom, why do we celebrate Maslenitsa?"
Her mother explained to her that this ancient festival marks the end of winter. "And it's also the beginning of spring. We say bye bye to the cold and welcome the sun!"
A beautiful idea, Anya thought. She loved the sun and imagined it melting away all the snow.
After three days of private celebrations, the big festival began in the village. The whole market square was full of stalls selling the most delicious blini. Anya particularly liked them with jam on top. But they were also available with butter and honey. The children ran around carefree, past the main attraction of the festival. The big snowman.
But it wasn't a real snowman. This figure, the Kostroma, was a doll dressed in white. It was very important for the celebration. The Kostroma symbolizes winter. That's why its burning on the last day of the festival is the absolute highlight.
In the evening, the Kostroma was finally lit to drive away the winter. That made Anya a little sad. She liked the snow and its sparkle when the sun shone in. Then she thought of the colorful flowers that would soon grow and her anticipation of spring grew. "Farewell, winter," the villagers shouted to the burning snowman.
The flames slowly died out and the last snowflakes sank silently to the ground. Soon a warmer season would begin. When Anya was finally back home in her bed, she closed her eyes and thought about the past few days. She fell asleep with a smile full of anticipation for the next Maslenitsa.
Image rights: Purgin_Alexandr at Pixabay
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