Maslenitsa

Another train ride dashing through the snow fields of Ukraine. Coming closer to center and east of the country I feel bliss looking into the traditional painted white one storey village houses with intricate wooden windows.

As I regard myself as a nomad, it is difficult for me to call any place in particular home, but whenever I approach Dnipro city in the east of the country, I feel joy. Maybe it is blood memory as quite a few previous generations of my family have lived in this area so I always feel comfortable here.

Winter doesn’t want to go even though it is the time of our Easter-oriented holiday, Maslenitsa. It is a Slavic folk tradition to eat pancakes the whole week, I assume a symbol of a long awaited sun. At the beginning, we make a Snow Queen doll out of straw, and at the end of week say farewell to winter by burning same.

So, as you see, old traditions and Orthodox Christianity are quite interestingly combined in this part of the world.

This Sunday is called Forgiveness Sunday . The Church remembers the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Before the following fast, people are supposed to ask forgiveness of one another so that God will forgive them.

“If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14).

Irrespective of anyone’s attitude towards religion, I think this tradition is very needed now indeed and maybe more than ever. Perhaps if people followed these teachings, all conflicts would cease on their own.