How Did Ancient Russia Use Sun Cakes?

The Russians would traditionally pay their respects in spring to a deity named Maslenitsa by making blini, which are thin pancakes that they call sun cakes. The ancient Celts that celebrated Beltane on the first day of spring by baking Beltane cakes and eating them was an important part of their culture. At the Beltane festival, the ancient Celts would also roll the cakes down a hill to imitate solar movement. They hoped that rolling the cakes down a hill would ensure the continued motion of the sun. Though this activity would also serve as a form divination: If the cake broke when it reached the bottom of the hill, the Celts believed that whoever rolled it would die within one year’s time; but if the cake made it down the hill in one piece,