<P> Some medieval Christian sources such as the Czech 9th century Mater Verborum compare her to the Greek goddess Hecate, associating her with sorcery . 15th century Polish chronicler Jan Długosz likened her in his Annales to Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture (together with another Slavic goddess Dziewanna). </P> <P> In modern times the rituals associated with Marzanna have lost their sacred character and are a pastime--an occasion to have fun and celebrate the beginning of spring . The tradition is usually celebrated around the spring equinox (March 21). Usually schoolchildren and young people participate in the celebrations alongside local folklore groups and other residents . A procession consisting of men, women and children carries handmade Marzanna (and often also Marzaniok dolls, the male counterpart to Marzanna) to the nearest river, lake or pond . The participants sing traditional songs and throw effigies of Marzanna into the water . Sometimes the effigies are first set on fire, or their clothes are torn . On the journey back to the village the focus falls on the copses, adorned with ribbons and blown egg shells . The procession, still singing, returns to the village . In some locations (e.g. in Brynica--a district of Miasteczko Śląskie), the beginning of spring is then celebrated with a feast . </P> <P> Marzanna's name most likely comes from the Proto - Indo - European root * mar -, * mor -, signifying death . The Slovak form of the theonym--Ma (r) muriena--suggests that the goddess may have originally been connected to the Roman god of war Mars (known under a variety of names, including Marmor, Mamers and Mamurius Veturius). The connection to Mars is supported by, among others, Vyacheslav Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov, who underline that he was originally an agricultural deity . </P> <P> Other theories claim her name is derived from the same Indo - European root as Latin mors' death' and Russian mor' pestilence' . Some authors also likened her to mare, an evil spirit in Germanic and Slavic folklore, associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis . In Belarusian, Polish, Ukrainian and in some Russian dialects the word' mara' means dream . But Vladimir Dahl says it means' phantom',' vision',' hallucination' . </P>

What do slavic countries burn to get rid of winter