CELEBRATION TRADITIONS: Lithuanians have long celebrated Uzhgavenes with songs, noise, and merriment, hoping that loud festivities will wake up the frost-bound earth and bring warm days closer. The holiday has several important components.
1. COOKING PANCAKES WITH DIFFERENT TOPPINGS. Like Shrove Tuesday, the Lithuanian holiday precedes Great Lent, so people eat to their heart's content on it. Contrary to popular belief, pancakes here are not associated with the cult of the sun, but with honoring ancestors. On this special day, which separates the natural cycles, the connection between the living and dead worlds is strengthened.
2. MOVEMENTS OF THE CUT. In the old days, peasants wore masks - it was important to change clothes so that the neighbors would not recognize them. Then the relatives walked around the houses, sang songs, joked, and danced. Costumes and masks, as well as characters created with their help, differ from Slavic ones. A goat outfit was popular. Competitions are held between the "goats" - each participant must perform a number. You can constantly see the costumes of gypsies, demons, and witches. One of the main roles in the masquerade is played by Lashininis (Fat) and Kanapinis (Hemp). The first personifies winter and the time before the start of fasting. He is usually depicted with a fat belly, often hung with sausages and other meat dishes. The second character is thin and righteous. He fasts, so he has special power. In the fight, which is fought in different ways, the victory is won, of course, by Canapinis.
3. THE BURNING OF THE WINTER SCARECROW. The scarecrow is called Sea (or Sea). This is another tradition that brings Užgavenes closer to the Slavic holiday. Among the Lithuanians, the procession that leads the effigy of winter to the bonfire is led by a "general", who can also be a "secondary" in the duel between Lashininis and Kanapinis.
There is a belief that whoever does not celebrate Uzhgavenes "will not rest during the year, and his work will not be completed."
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