Meeting Maslenitsa at Triumphal Gate with Traffic Lights in Sunrise

Festive holiday light installation "Meeting Maslennitsa" at the Arch of Triumph with traffic light trails of cars rushing into Moscow city center on Kutuzovsky avenue in the early morning. The light installation consists of jolly people near horses (Russian Troyka) and image of sun decorated with colorful and bright red and yellow stripes.

Maslenitsa (or pancake week) is considered an ancient Russian folk holiday. In fact, this is the farewell to the winter and the solemn meeting of the beautiful spring.

Pancake week is a pagan holiday. And originally its celebration in Russia was associated with the glorification of the Sun God Yarila. Only as a sacrifice he was brought not a scarecrow, as now, but of living people! This is hard to believe, but in some areas, such a tradition existed up to the 17th century ... After the adoption of Christianity, the Church still consecrated this pagan holiday and filled it with new ideas, banning all cruelties.

Photo #066 taken on February 13, 2018