Before cakes baked two or three, or even once a year, on most major holidays, connected with the change of seasons: either in the New year, or in early spring (the beginning of the agricultural year)or in autumn, on the occasion of the harvest (the end of the agricultural year). This was due not only to the relatively high cost of Easter cakes, to prepare which requires a lot of food security products, but also by the complexity and duration of the manufacturing process[2].
According to Slavic folk traditions, Easter cakes acted as a ritual bread that was baked usually before the sowing of sour fermented dough. This bread was sacrificed earth elements or ancestors, to gain their support, and to ensure the fertility of the earth and abundant harvest.
Over time, the Christian and pagan traditions are inextricably intertwined in the national consciousness. And if its value was mainly Christian, at the household level, the peasants continued its active use in producing and protective rituals[1].
According to Slavic folk traditions, Easter cakes acted as a ritual bread that was baked usually before the sowing of sour fermented dough. This bread was sacrificed earth elements or ancestors, to gain their support, and to ensure the fertility of the earth and abundant harvest.
Over time, the Christian and pagan traditions are inextricably intertwined in the national consciousness. And if its value was mainly Christian, at the household level, the peasants continued its active use in producing and protective rituals[1].