Forgiveness Sunday

In this post I was planning to write something about the so called Forgiven Sunday. http://verdevivoverdechiaro.blogspot.com/2008/04/week-just-before-great-lent-was-good.html#links/ Catholics have Ash Wednesday, The Orthodox have Forgiven Sunday, the day just before the Great Lent. I haven't found any clear indications to this tradition on the net. I know it's old. The start of it lies in the words from the Gospels (http://kingjbible.com/matthew/6.htm): 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The tradition is to ask the people to forgive you, and the usual answer is "God will forgive." Formerly, before the revolution, people used to these words even to the people they were not acquainted with, strangers.
By the way, this tradition is shown in Nikita Michalkov's film "The Barber of Siberia" (1999).
So what is the situation nowadays? Nowadays people do it, mostly relatives and friends, I think. Even some people who are not church-goers and who are not religious.