Arrival of Spring

The only other springtime festival worthy of note is by custom celebrated on March 9, the day the skylarks, or zhavoronki, are said to return from their winter migration. Young girls used to go out into the fields to toss breadcrumbs to the birds, wishing them welcome as the harbingers of spring. Bakeshops were full of sweet rolls molded in the form of larks, and even today these confection larks are prepared in early March, although their significance has largely been lost.