There was only one thing I wanted to do today. I was a boy who loves pancakes, in a country that loves pancakes, on pancake day. Today is the end of a very big Russian celebration. From Sarah Brown's email to me from Petersburg: "There's a festival this week called 'Maslenitsa', which is the Russian 'Pancake Week'. It started on monday and goes right through to sunday, which is the start of the fast before Easter. Traditionally something different happens each day. On monday a straw scarecrow is made, dressed in women's clothing, and carried around the neighbourhood by singing people. On the tuesday families invite friends around and perform a small concert/play for their guests. On these two days it is forbidden to eat pancakes ('blini'); this can only be done from wednesday, so on
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