Larks for the Annunciation. Ritual cookies "Larks" for the feast of the Annunciation. Take the saucepan off the fire. Add butter to the mixture, stir and leave to cool to room temperature

On the day of the Holy Forty Martyrs, March 9/22, the Church celebrates the memory of the 40 martyrs who suffered in Lake Sebaste.In reverence for the memory of the holy 40 martyrs, which is always celebrated on Fortecost, the Orthodox Church decided to celebrate their liturgy on the day of repose, to lighten the fast and thereby make this day more solemn. According to custom, larks are baked on this day.For the dough: 2 kg of flour, 50 g of yeast, 250 g of vegetable oil, 1 cup of sugar, 0.5 l of water, a pinch of salt.
For lubrication: sweet strong tea.Larks are made from strong, elastic dough. Roll out a roller from a piece of well-fermented dough, cut into pieces weighing about 100 g, roll out bundles from them, tie them in a knot, give the head an appropriate shape, stick raisins-eyes, lightly press the tail with your fingers, make cuts-feathers with a small knife, grease the surface with infusion of strong tea with sugar, bake.Doves, like larks, are made from a bundle of dough, which must be rolled out so that one end is thin and flexible - the head, and the whole body is thicker, elongated, it must be slightly crushed with your fingers. Cut the tail fan-shaped with a knife. For the wings, roll out the dough thinly, cut out the wing, cut the feathers, grease with tea, the last detail is the raisins-eyes.Koloboks are made quite simply. Cut the dough roller into pieces, roll them into balls, put them on a greased metal sheet (tray), give time for proofing, then brush with tea with a brush, then after baking the koloboks will really have a smooth, shiny, golden surface (golden kolobans ).See also page LARKS (with photo) in section Russian traditional cuisine .

Larks
prosphora of St. Simeon Cathedral
Tatyana Merkuryevna Ivanova, a prosphora baker at St. Simeon Cathedral, shares her long-term recipe

In the Russian folk calendar, ancient Slavic and Orthodox holidays are very closely intertwined. Here, for example, the peasants greeted spring with songs and games three times - at the Candlemas, at Magpies (forty martyrs of Sebaste) and the Annunciation.And on Magpies there was a custom to bake larks - birds that return first. By folk omens, their arrival meant the establishment of warm spring weather. Therefore, larks were welcome guests - they were baked from dough and placed on the windowsill in front of the open window. And the children climbed with larks on the roofs of houses and sheds and from there "clicked on spring."In the St. Simeon Cathedral (Chelyabinsk) there is also a tradition to bake larks for the refectory during Lent in memory of the forty Martyrs of Sebastia. It is not known how long ago it arose, and whether it was in the order of things before the revolution. But since the beginning of the 90s, every Great Lent, those who came to the refectory on the day of the memory of the forty martyrs of Sebaste were treated to buns in the form of the first heralds of spring.Tradition is a serious thing.Here is the recipe for the prosphora of St. Simeon Cathedral, how to bake "larks" in the oven. We will bake from prosphora dough.
The baking sheet is smeared with beeswax - according to the charter, vegetable oil is allowed only on weekends.We will need:
Water - 0.5 liters
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Yeast - 10 grams
Flour - 1 kilogram 100 gramsMix the flour with salt and yeast, then pour the whole mass into the water and knead a very cool dough. We put it in a warm place for 40 minutes and let it rise once. We form a cake from the dough, cut off a strip with a knife and roll it into a “sausage”. It is important that the hand movements are from the middle to the edges of our workpiece.Then fold the strip into an uneven knot. The shorter edge will be the head, the longer one will be the tail.After that, we press our finger on the tail to make it flatter, and cut it with a knife into several “feathers”.The final touch is the eyes. They can be raisins, buckwheat, poppy - depending on the size of your bird.Now we give the product a distance of 20-30 minutes and bake in the oven, heated to 180 gr. C, 25-30 minutes.

Several folk-Christian holidays at once fall on the time of the spring equinox from March 21 to 25. This is a holiday magpies, or Larks, opening of Svarga And Annunciation. All these days the main rite is invocation of spring and the final farewell to winter. It is believed that it was at this time that birds begin to return from hot countries, carrying spring on their wings. Therefore, these days it is customary to call for spring and bake buns in the form of birds, which are called "larks". And since now is the time of Great Lent, the “larks” are made fasting.

Feast of the Magpie or the Lark

Celebration magpies, or Larks(other names are Kuliki, Zaklichki, Forty Magpies) is noted March 22(March 9, according to the so-called "old" style) and coincides with spring equinox day. In Orthodoxy, this day is celebrated as the day of memory of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, who died for their faith in the 4th century on the territory of Lesser Armenia (modern Turkey). According to folk calendar, it is on this day that winter ends - spring begins, and day and night are measured and equal.

Larks (waders, grouse) are also called cookies or buns in the form of birds that are baked for the holiday. The holiday has ancient roots and is associated with agriculture - from the day of the spring equinox, preparations for sowing work begin. Therefore, part of the lark cookies was not eaten, but fed to birds, cattle, and in some places a coin was baked in one of the cookies: whoever pulls it out will be the family sower, that is, at the beginning of sowing work, he will be trusted to throw the first handfuls of grains. On this day, people feasted in the villages, played burners and other ritual games, girls guessed at the suitors, etc. And in general it was a legal day of rest before the start of sowing work.

Opening of Svarga - invocation of Spring

Larks are close in spirit and rituals and the holiday Discoveries of Svarga, which is noted a little later - March 25. Svarga is one of the seven heavenly worlds in Hindu mythology.

Annunciation according to the "old style"

On March 25, according to the Julian calendar, one of the most important holidays in the folk Christian calendar falls - Annunciation, which is also called the Third (and last) meeting of spring. This holiday, coinciding with the time of the spring equinox, is associated with Orthodox holiday Annunciation Holy Mother of God , which due to calendar differences will be celebrated April 7.

How to call spring

The rite of invocation of spring differed in different areas, each village had its own invocations and refrains. In many places on the territory of present-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, on a holiday, each family member took a lark cookie in his hand, went out onto the field, tossed it into the air and called out:

Larks, fly! We are tired of winter, we ate a lot of bread! You fly and bring red spring, hot summer!
Spring is red, what did you come for? You are on a bipod, on a harrow. Spring is red, what have you brought us? I brought you three lands: the first tract is a little animal in a field; another land - with a bipod in a field; the third place - bees in flight; and even a favor - to the world in good health!
Spring, red spring, come, spring, with joy, with joy, with great mercy: with great flax, with deep roots, with great bread.

In ancient times, the rite of invocation was performed by adults, but over time it became the prerogative of children, even special children's incantations appeared. At the end of the holiday, the remains of the buns were attached to tree branches, hidden under fences in sheds or huts, or fed to livestock. If, after the invocation of spring, frosts still continued, then Santa Claus was cajoled. Small koloboks were baked for him or oatmeal jelly was cooked. Treats were put up at the huts and sentenced:

Frost Red nose, here's some bread and oats for you, and now get out the best you can.
Frost-frost, don't touch my oats, come and eat jelly.

Usually, immediately after the call of spring, active preparations for spring field work began.

Recipe for lean larks

Dough Ingredients:

water - 500 ml,
fresh yeast - 30 g,
sugar - 0.5-0.75 cups,
vanilla sugar - 1 teaspoon,
salt - 1 teaspoon,
vegetable oil- 0.5 cups,
flour - 6-8 cups
raisins for decoration
vegetable oil or sweet tea for lubrication.

Cooking:

Prepare yeast dough.
Roll out the finished dough into a tourniquet and divide it into 40 equal parts.
Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 15 cm long.
Tie the tourniquet in a knot, giving one tip the shape of a bird's head.
Flatten the other tip a little and make a few cuts in the form of a bird's tail.
Make raisin eyes (cut the raisin into several pieces).
Put the larks on a greased baking sheet and put in a warm place so that the dough rises.
When the larks come up, grease them with vegetable oil or sweet tea.
Bake buns for 20-25 minutes at 180°C.
Remove the ready larks from the baking sheet, put on a wooden surface, lightly sprinkle with water, cover with a towel and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes.

How to bake "larks"? How to prepare dough for larks?

In Russia, the elderly noticed that the first messengers in the spring were larks, which flew in from distant countries in the second half of March. Later this event was timed to the Orthodox big holiday 40 martyrs/Magpies and along with the holiday, a ritual came - by March 22, bake larks from lean dough. For the test you will need:

8 cups flour
200 grams of vegetable oil,
1 packet of dry yeast
400 grams of water
150 grams of sugar
1 teaspoon salt.

Mix all the ingredients and knead thoroughly, adding a few coins. From the ready-made steep dough, shape the birds. And bake in the oven until done. It is believed that whoever got a lark with a coin will live a whole year in abundance, without any problems.

On the spring equinox, which is celebrated on March 22, one of the ancient Slavic holidays falls - the Larks. Previously, it was believed that it was on this day that larks began to arrive, and other migratory birds began to arrive after them. People used to always say: The lark brought forty birds with him.

Hence the ritual of baking larks from dough. Oven larks were handed out to children with wishes good health and happiness this year.

Signs: if on a holiday Larks snow falls, then the whole Easter week will be cold, and if this holiday is good, dry weather, then Easter will also be dry and there will be no rain.

In the photo, lark buns are made from yeast dough. Butter yeast dough differs from lean dough in that butter, an egg are placed in rich dough and it is made with milk, while lean dough, in turn, consists closely of water and lean, sunflower mals.

lean dough: Knead 50 g of yeast (without lumps), with 3 tablespoons of sugar, add 0.5 liters of warm water, 5 tablespoons of oil, a little salt and flour, knead the dough so that it is not too tight.

Butter dough: 50 gr of yeast, knead (without lumps), with 3 tablespoons of sugar, add 0.5 liters of warm milk, 2 eggs, a third of a pack of butter (melt, cool), salt, flour.

Usually this portion makes 2 baking sheets of buns, and how you form them depends on the holiday.

Wings attached separately

And the last video.

Happy holiday!

It has always been a tradition in Russia to bake buns in the form of lark birds on the Forty Disciples Memorial Day, which symbolized the arrival of spring. Moreover, March 22 is the day of the spring equinox. I remember very well that my grandmother baked such cute larks from lean yeast dough. There are many recipes for baking larks, here is one of them from yeast dough.

Recipe for yeast dough for larks:

Recipe for larks:

for believers who fast, fasting larks: dilute yeast in warm water, add flour, sugar, vegetable oil, vanillin. Knead a dense dough, let it rise, roll it out and cut into strips 10 cm long and 2 cm wide approximately. tie the strip in a knot to make a head, stick 2 raisins instead of eyes, make wings and stick to larks, mark pimples on the tail with a knife. sprinkle with sugar and bake in the oven.

rich larks: 3 cups flour, 125 g milk, 10 g yeast, 15 g butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. from these ingredients we prepare yeast dough and sculpt larks from it, showing imagination. Brush with egg on top and bake in the oven.

March 22 is the day of memory of the Forty Martyrs, the Day of the spring equinox. On this day, it is customary to bake buns in the form of bird figurines with open wings and raisin eyes. Such buns have several names:

The dough can be rich yeast or yeast-free, because there is a post.

Divide the dough into cakes, brush with vegetable oil and sprinkle with sugar. Roll into a roll and tie it in a knot. One end of the knot is the bird's tail, the other is the head and beak. We flatten the end of the knot and cut it into thin stripes - feathers.

Spread the bird figurines on a baking sheet, give time for proofing. Lubricate with an infusion of strong sweet tea, the buns will turn out ruddy, with a crispy crust. Bake in the oven at 200C for 20 minutes. After baking brush with butter, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

(photo from internet)

ancient feast of the Lark, in which they bake buns or cookies in the form of these birds dates back to the day of memory of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in Russian Orthodox Church. It's March 22nd.

Winter ends - larks fly, bring spring.

This is the day of the equinox, that is, day and night are equal in time.

These days, Great Lent is going on, so baking from unleavened dough.

I remember that my grandmother used to put money in one bird - whoever gets it is special happiness and special well-being in this year.

The dough is very simple:

250 g flour;

1/4 bag of dry yeast;

0.5 cups of water;

1 st. l. sunflower oil;

2 tbsp. l. Sahara;

1/4 tsp salt.

In warm water, mix butter, yeast, salt, sugar. Add flour and knead the dough.

You can add vanilla, cinnamon, if you like. Leave the dough in a warm place until it rises.

suit. I give two rises: I crumpled it up, it came up on the table and I shape it.

We make koloboks, then we roll the bundles, which we fold with a bird, making out the nose and tail, we make eyes from raisins.

We bake as usual.

Recipe for lean larks from yeast dough:

Knead the dough: Warm water 250 ml + yeast 2 tsp + sugar 1/4 cup + vanillin + 1 tsp. salt + flour 500 gr. + vegetable oil 50 gr. Leave fit. Punch down and set to fit again.

Divide the dough into 40 equal balls. Roll each ball into a rope about 15 cm long. Tie the tourniquet in a knot, giving one end the shape of a bird's head, flatten the other end with a tail and make cuts. Cut the raisins into 4 parts and make eyes for each bird. Put the birds on a baking sheet in a warm place so that the dough rises. Lubricate with sweet tea. Bake at 180 degrees until done.

There is a good omen that larks bring spring on their wings and tails. Our distant ancestors, the Slavs, and later the Christians, celebrated the beginning of spring by baking larks from dough.

Each housewife has her own recipe for dough for making larks.

Here is a recipe for making lean larks, here all products are taken by eye

And there are also several ways of baking, making larks from dough. Here are the step by step instructions:

We make two sausages and put them on top of each other crosswise. At the top sausage, we flatten the edges, according to the principle of wings, and cut them, imitating feathers.

From the lower sausage we make the head and tail.

Bake the larks in the oven until tender. After baking, grease with vegetable oil.

Here is a small photo tutorial on making classic larks for the Easter holiday from yeast dough.

We roll the sausage and tie it into a knot. we make a tail with a knife and use a piece of raisins to create eyes and sculpt a beak.

On this bright and joyful spring day, winter will finally give up its rights to spring, the day will equal the night, and the renewal of nature will begin.

Russian people revere this day very much, it is believed that if you call spring properly, it will not be slow to appear, the cold will go away, birds will fly in, and streams will flow, gleaming merrily under the gentle sunshine. This holiday has several names among the people: "Magpies", "Kulich". Some people call March 22 "Larks" or "Teterochny Day".

Larks for the feast of 40 saints

There is a very good tradition of baking dough birds and larks for the holiday of March 22, which played the main role: to call for spring. So, we sculpt birds.

We start the dough for larks from the evening of March 21, preferably rich - we will please the kids, the birds will turn out delicious and very beautiful. You can add raisins and nuts to the dough, the main thing is to make birds with outstretched wings, as if they are flying towards spring, meeting it, and carrying it on their wings to our lands. Let's not forget to make eyes and a mouth for the birds - let the birds see Spring from afar and call her louder with their chirping. You can stick small nests from the dough, and then plant our feathered friends in them - we will put the baked goodies on the windowsill so that Spring sees that they have long been ready to meet her and hurried to drive away the annoying winter.

How to bake larks for the feast of forty saints, we invite you to learn from the video lesson.

Ready-made larks, waders, and other birds that we get, we give to children, and they should run into the field and call Spring with joyful cries.

Let's stick the birds
Let's meet the spring
The birds are chirping,
Spring will be called!

Spring, beautiful girl,
Hurry to our lands
Tired of the blizzard
We are waiting only for you!

Tired of the cold
Leave soon winter
We release larks,
Welcome to the Red Spring.

Birds fly, winter is driven away,
They don’t want to freeze, they invite spring.
Come spring, make people happy
Hurry Spring to visit us, hurry up!

The birds flutter their wings,
Spring is called to us,
You are sweeter than winter, more beautiful,
People are looking forward to it!

Divination on larks

You can guess in this magical holiday Spring - one of the birds can be well flavored with salt, put coins in some of the birds. Whoever gets the “happy” bird will be rich, well-fed and very satisfied with life.

Unmarried girls are also not averse to telling fortunes on this holiday: the girl throws a bird back over her right shoulder, and then looks - in which direction the bird pointed with her beak, and the betrothed lives and lives there.

In another divination, the girls baked larks and waders in a group, then laid out their culinary masterpieces at the doorstep and invited a dog into the house - whose bird the dog sniffs and eats first, that girl will jump out before the rest get married. In addition, it is believed that this girl will be very happy in family life, and her husband will come across a handsome, kind, generous and affectionate.

Customs and traditions on the holiday of Magpie

Some traditions have pagan roots. On March 22, the girls need to break forty wooden blocks, break forty ropes - this will drive away the evil spirits that bound our land with frost. If this ritual is followed, then winter will certainly run away, and the world will be filled with bright spirits, which will certainly pave the way for spring so that it can calmly enter into its legal rights.

In some villages, the tradition of swinging on a swing on March 22 has been preserved - the stronger you swing and fly higher, the more fruitful the year will be, and people will become happier.

A good tradition on the holiday of spring is to decorate the tree with paper or rag flowers, bright ribbons, bells. Spring will certainly see such a miracle and will definitely fly to us, drive away the annoying winter and come into its own. The tree is carried through the village and set in the place where they decided to invite spring. Round dances are danced around the tree, songs about spring are sung.

 elegant tree
Waiting for Spring to visit
winter is cold,
Go to sleep.
We want warmth
Very, hurry up
Spring is asking for a visit
Winter, have pity on us.

round dance, round dance,
Waiting for spring to visit
Winter is scared
The stream will go away
Spring is beautiful
It will rain.

Signs for the feast of 40 saints

Among the people there are many signs about the weather.

If on March 22 winter does not rush to get away and snow falls, then the holy Easter week is expected to be cold, not spring, but if the weather pleases with warmth, then we can assume that Spring has won and drove away the cold, winds, and snowfalls.

If the arriving birds begin to nest on the sunny side, then this predicts a very cold summer. And if you are lucky enough to see a starling on March 22, then you can calm down - the summer will be warm and the harvest will be good. And of course, you need to guess these cute birds for the arrival - to make cute birdhouses in advance so that the starlings fly to our house first and delight us with their magical singing.

It is believed that if the weather on March 22 pleased us, then for another forty days we can not worry about what awaits us. But if on the day of "Magpie" the weather failed, then in the next forty days spring will struggle with the winter - either warm, then snow and slush.

The vernal equinox holiday helps us cope with the winter blues, and if you believe in good things, then it will definitely happen, and on March 22 we will simply help Spring get to us faster - with the help of faith, good traditions and a great, warm mood!

March 22 is the spring equinox. The days are getting longer and summer is getting closer. The people always celebrated this day, because it marked the end of winter, the awakening of nature from hibernation. The holiday itself is called Magpies, or Larks, and in the church calendar - Forty Saints.

Traditionally, sweet larks or other spring birds are baked on this day - cookies, buns - as if calling for spring and as a sign of the return of birds from warm lands, and, therefore, the full end of winter. It is not customary to eat them immediately, they are part of the holiday: larks are seated on branches, thrown up, pricked on sticks and raised, accompanied by songs and dances.

Sweet larks will be fun for kids to make. Made from tender rich dough, they are lush and fragrant. Spring will definitely come much faster if you fill your home with sweet cozy scents!

Cooking time: about 3 hours.
Yield: 8 large larks.

Ingredients

2 cups of flour
0.5 cup milk
1 egg
30 grams of butter
15 grams fresh yeast
2 tbsp. teaspoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
a pinch of salt
4 highlights for the eyes
1 egg yolk for brushing before baking

Cooking

Add butter to milk.

Heat this mixture in the microwave or just on the stove. The butter should melt and the milk should be at a pleasantly warm temperature.

Knead the yeast a little in your hands so that it dissolves faster.

Pour the yeast mixture into the butter-milk mixture and stir until the yeast dissolves.

Then add salt, sugar, sifted flour and beat in an egg.

Using a mixer or by hand, knead the dough. At first it will be sticky - this is normal.

After a while, you will notice that the dough has become more elastic and smooth.

Sprinkle a little flour into the dough, gather it into a ball and put it in a warm place to rise.

Since there is not a lot of muffin in the dough, it will grow quite quickly. When it doubles in volume, you can start sculpting larks.

Divide the dough into 8 portions and reserve a small portion for the wings.
From each part, roll a tourniquet with a diameter of about 1.5 cm.

Tie the resulting sausage into a knot - this will be the lark.

One end will be the bird's head. Flatten it a little, giving it the shape of a beak at the end. Make eyes from raisins cut into 4 parts.
Press the other end and make cuts - this will be the tail.

From the remaining dough, pinch off pieces of dough the size of large beans, flatten them and make cuts on one side.

Place the larks on a baking sheet and stick on the wings. If they do not mold well, grease them with water from the underside, and then they will stick better.

Leave the larks for 20 minutes to rise. Then generously grease them with yolk.

Sprinkle sugar on top of the birds.

Bake the larks at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes until the crust is very golden brown. Cool the finished birds at room temperature and you can treat your family and friends.