Making pancakes for an entire week

Maslenitsa week is a popular Ukrainian ritual. This feast before Kievan Rus. Because the pancake was regarded as a sign of the sun (yellow, round, and hot), it represented saying goodbye to winter and hello to spring. Maslenitsa is a joyful occasion celebrated in the penultimate week before Great Lent. Every day, people offer freshly cooked pancakes, visit one another, sled, ski, and simply enjoy life.

It is widely assumed that Ukrainians prepare largely pancakes for the celebration, however, this is not totally correct. A pancake, like any other circular bread, signifies the sun. Ukrainians intended to use it to fast entice spring into their country and bid farewell to winter. However, in most parts of Ukraine, dumplings (vareniki) are cooked with a variety of ingredients other than meat. This is one of the things about Ukraine you should know.