Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a merry carnival. It is celebrated on Tuesday, the eve of Ash Wednesday, to mark the winter’s end. The traditional figures in the carnival are the lean Kanapinis, the fatty Lašininis, a Jew offering his goods, a Gypsy looking for something to pilfer, and a great number of other funny, caricature masks. The old maid Morė – a female symbol of the clash between winter and spring. In one hand she usually holds a flail and in the other a broom. Other figures of the carnival include animals – a horse, a goat, a stork, the devil, death. All of them take part in a simple theatrical. Masks are made of wood as terrible as possible. This is a day of universal relaxation and entertainment. Shrove Tuesday celebrations are full of humour, jokes, superstitions and fortune telling.
People do not do any hard work on Shrove Tuesday. They go on swings merry –go rounds, visit friends, enjoy sledging down the slopes while others try to pour water on them.