Kuts’tsja (Eastern Orthodox Christmas Eve meal). Tsjerablichy 2017.
Kuts’tsja is the name of a porridge found in Belarusian, Polish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Russian cuisine. It is made from wheat or barley or, in Belarus, from rice. Kuts’tsja is made for three evenings in Orthodox Christmastide: great or fasting kuts’tsja on January 6, Orthodox Christmas eve; rich or spare kuts’tsja on January 13, old new year’s eve; and hungry or water kuts’tsja on January 18, the eve of Vadokhryshcha, the Baptism of Christ/Theophany. Belarusians also prepare Kuts’tsja for major commemorations of ancestors (Radaunitsa, nine days after Orthodox Easter and Dzjady, around All Saints’ Day), and for the anniversary of a family member’s death (paminki).
Vjerka Naskjevich kindly allowed me to photograph her preparation of fasting kuts’tsja, which involves preparatory rituals and the making of 12 dishes to commemorate the 12 apostles, on January 6, 2017.
Посная куцьця на Палесьсі. Цераблічы 2017 г.
Вялікі дзякуй спадарыне Верцы за дазвол здымаць яе прыгатаваньне поснай куцьці й астатных з 12 страў для вячэры напярэдадні Раства.
