Category: Uncategorized

Apple Tree, Jatsyny 2011.  Яблыня, Яцыны 2011 год.

Belarus in Faces I.  Беларусь у тварах (частка І). Tsjerablichy 2011.  Цераблічы 2011 год.

To mark the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  З нагоды Унебаўзяцьця. The Roman Catholic mass for the Feast of the Assumption traditionally includes the blessing of a bouquet or basket of flowers, not only in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary but also in hope of a bountiful harvest.  The spicy fragrance of late… Continue reading Photo of the Day for August 15, 2011: Feast of the Assumption / Унебаўзяцьця

August 14 is one of the clearest examples of syncretism, the overlapping or fusion of different traditions, in the Belarusian cycle of the year. From pre-Christian times, Belarusians have traditionally seen August 14 as marking the transition from the summer to the autumn cultivation cycle.  Rain on August 14 is taken as a sign that… Continue reading Photos of the Day for August 14, 2011: Feast of Honey-Blessing and Maccabees / Мядовы Спас і Макаўе

Landscapes of Belarus XX.  Краявіды Беларусі ХХ. Luzhki 2011.  Лужкі 2011 год.

Mats’vjejka’s Christening III, Azdamichy 2011.  Хрышчэньне Мацьвейка (частка ІІІ), Аздамічы 2011 год. Here Father Aljaksandr clips strands of hair from four places (representing the four points of the cross) on Mats’vejka’s head.  The hair will be placed in a paper cone to be fastened to the back of an icon which Mats’vjejka’s Godparents purchase to… Continue reading Photo of the Day for August 12, 2011: Mats’vjej’s Christening III / Хрышчэньне Мацьвейка ІІІ

Mats’vjej’s Christening II, Azdamichy 2011.  Хрышчэньне Мацьвейка (частка II), Аздамічы 2011 год. Here Father Aljaksandr blows gently on Mats’vjej’s head to symbolize the entry of the Holy Spirit.  In the Orthodox tradition only the child’s Godparents attend; his parents remain outside the church.

Two dozen storks gather in an oak tree.  Early summer evening, Varonina 2009.  Вечарная гутарка буслоў на дубе.  Вароніна 2009 год.

Mats’vjej’s Christening I, Azdamichy 2011.  Хрышчэньне Мацьвейка (частка І), Аздамічы 2011 год. I have enjoyed photographing Ivan and Ljudmila and their two older children Jahor and Chesa.  It was thus a great honor when Ivan and Ljudmila invited me to attend the the christening of their third child Mats’vjej. Here Father Aljaksandr, holding the bundled… Continue reading Photo of the Day for August 9, 2011: Mats’vjej’s Christening I / Хрышчэньне Мацьвейка I

The Extraordinary in the “Ordinary”:  Hands XII.  Надзвычайнае ў “звычайным“:  рукі (частка XII). Hard-working, protective, guiding.  Yet ever graceful.  Alert even in repose, when they rest — as always — in their proper place.  I think Belarusan hands reveal most eloquently Belarusans’ distinctive and instinctive traditions and attachment to place. See also photos for August… Continue reading Photo of the Day for August 8, 2011: Hands XII / Рукі ХІІ