Russian Winter Fight

This seemingly silly teenage brawl may very well be a a vestige of an ancient russian tradition of the Pancake week or "Maslenitsa," a purely Russian holiday, which dates back to the pagan times. Originally, it was a time for Russian peasants to say good bye to winter and to perform certain rituals that they believed will help them to grow more crops in the upcoming year. One of those rituals was to burn the Scarecrow that symbolized winter. Men and women used to take one sheaf of straw from their yards, piled up these sheaves in a one big pile whereof they made a big Scarecrow. Another ritual was a massive fist fight among the young unmarried men. It was a chance for young guys to show how bold and strong they are. Young unmarried girls came to look at them and each girl tried to decide whom she would like to see as her future husband. The guys knew that the girls were looking at them, and it excited them even more.