Who, pray tell, is not bothered with winter yet? We anxiously watch the weather forecast on TV, waiting for someone to conjure up some sign of spring. To shorten the time until spring’s arrival our ancestors would gather to sing vociferously and without interruption believing their magical songs echoed from one village to another, always […]
Traditional Belarusan geometrical patterns link present-day stitchers to an ancestral past to which they feel a great connection. Used primarily in woven coverlets, these patterns are an essential piece of Belarusan history. Even more precious to me are my great-grandmother’s sketches that she charted in pencil which she then adapted to her weaving. As I […]
While some Slavic cultures have Christian names for the holidays, the Belarusans name their holidays by their ancient pagan ways. Easter is Vialikdzen as in The Great Day, and Saint Ivan (St. John the Baptist Day) steps aside for Koupalle as in the Summer Solstice Day. And so why should Christmas be any different? Belarusans […]