Maslenitsa in Denmark (Fastelavn) marks the beginning of preparations for a long fast. On this day, in cities and villages, children get up first and wake up their parents with festive songs.
They then dress up in colorful costumes, put on masks and, picking up Fastelavnsris birch branches decorated with bright paper and candy, walk the streets and sing songs in the hope that the townspeople will fill their boxes with sweets. At the end of the day, children gather around a large wooden barrel hung from a tree or pole. They take turns trying to split it with a baton.
The one who succeeds becomes the owner of a pile of sweets and fruits with which the barrel is filled; he is appointed king of Fastelavn and a paper crown is placed on his head, after which the king chooses a queen. In the old days, a black cat was put in a barrel and hit on a barrel until the animal died. Only adults did this. In modern Denmark, only a black cat painted on a barrel reminds of this barbaric tradition.
In some cities, on this day in the morning, a procession of horsemen passes through the streets, accompanied by a cart with musicians. They stop at the request of the townspeople and perform a song in exchange for hot rum. And in the evening, the riders break their barrel, suspended on ropes between two pillars. Each rider, sitting astride a galloping horse, throws a heavy stick into the barrel. When the barrel completely falls apart, those gathered begin the election of the barrel's queen and king, who then open the barrel's ball.