A giant Russian apple pie known as a "sharlotka" will appear in the center of Moscow this evening as part of the "Moscow Summer" festival of jam, and also in celebration of "yabolochny spas." According to the jam festival website, the pie will include more than 100 kilograms of apples, 100 kilograms of flour and 200 eggs.
The pie, which will be presented at 7:00 p.m., will require a special pan measuring four meters by two meters.
Although the jam festival began Aug. 13 and will continue through this weekend, the pie is being baked today to mark "yablochny spas," or the "savior of the apple." This ancient Slavic folk holiday, which celebrates the apple harvest and the coming of fall, was incorporated into the church calendar and is now celebrated as part of the Feast of the Transfiguration, which takes place on Aug. 19.
There are two other "savior" holidays are also marked in August — honey savior, on Aug. 14 and nut savior, on Aug. 29.
In addition to the pie, visitors to Tverskaya Square will be able to sample other apple delicacies, including jam, marmalade and pastila, local news site Moskva24 reported. More than five tons of apples were delivered to the square as part of the celebration.