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During the Lent Food is Simple

After the Maslenitsa Week ends, the Lent begins, which for the Upper Don Cossacks has always been significant and holy.

All life in Cossack families based on faith in God, love for the Fatherland, veneration of elders, on hard physical labor, on the preservation of centuries-old traditions. Cossacks were deeply religious people: they strictly observed Lents and holidays, ate modestly, on Wednesdays and Fridays refrained from any food, confessed and communed. Priests enjoyed great respect. Without a prayer, the Cossacks did not start and did not finish any business, including eating, even in the field.

On the eve of the Great Lent, on Forgiveness Sunday, it was customary to ask each other for forgiveness for all obvious and implicit insults caused to others in the past year. The Great Lent (Great Decade) is a time of special prayer and strict abstinence of a Christian from fast food and meat, preparation for the celebration of Easter. The first and last week of the post was very strict. Elderly Cossacks ate fasting once a day, often only bread or crackers with water.

The Orthodox traditions of the Cossacks of the Upper Don were vividly described by Mikhail Sholokhov in the novel "Quiet Flows the Don".

The Orthodox faith defined and illuminated the entire earthly path of the Cossack, shaped his worldview.

Elena Kleimenova