What is the most frivolous Shrovetide (Maslenitsa) rite?
No pancakes without kisses! Shrovetide aka Maslenitsa has many traditions in Russia, some of them very romantic.
In the 19th century, special attention was paid to newlyweds during the carnival, those who had married since the previous Maslenitsa. They would attend the celebration in their best outfits and stand along the streets. Hearing the cry of “Gunpowder on the lips,” they kissed. Afterwards, they could go for a sleigh ride. For added fun, married couples often wore the harness instead of horses: with songs and jokes, they would roll the couples through the village and, at some point, would throw them out of the sleigh, throwing snow at them. They could only sit back in the sleigh in exchange for kisses: the freshly married wife kissed the men, while the husband kissed the women.
Kisses also served as a “pass” during the newlyweds’ ride down the mountain – people held the sleigh until the wife kissed her husband a certain number of times. After such rituals, the spouses would often go to visit their relatives – by paying tribute to them, the newlyweds wanted to enlist their support and ensure happiness and fertility in the new family.
