Easter weekend was beautiful down South and the weather held up it's part of the bargain. This year, I had the opportunity to take part in a new-to-me Easter tradition. The boy is Polish and I was able to spend time with his mother and help with the Blessing of the Basket, a Polish-Catholic tradition.
The Blessing of the Basket occurs on Holy Saturday when baskets of food are taken to church and blessed by the priest. The food in the baskets has special meaning and is not to be eaten until Easter Sunday. Modern baskets vary in size and types of food, but the traditional basket contains:
On Saturday morning, I spent time dying the eggs for the basket as the boy's mom made the Ćwikła, a horseradish and beet mixture. We adorned the basket with white, decorative linens and green sprigs.
The Blessing of the Basket occurs on Holy Saturday when baskets of food are taken to church and blessed by the priest. The food in the baskets has special meaning and is not to be eaten until Easter Sunday. Modern baskets vary in size and types of food, but the traditional basket contains:
- eggs to symbolize life and Christ's resurrection
- bread to symbolize the body of Christ
- lamb to represent Christ as the Lamb of God
- salt to symbolize purity
- horseradish to symbolize the bitter sacrifice of Christ
- ham to symbolize joy and abundance
On Saturday morning, I spent time dying the eggs for the basket as the boy's mom made the Ćwikła, a horseradish and beet mixture. We adorned the basket with white, decorative linens and green sprigs.
We then headed over to the church where I was amazed by all the different baskets brought by others.
The priest led us in a short Polish and English mass, ending with the blessing of the baskets and sprinkling of Holy Water. In the picture below you can even see some people dressed in traditional Polish clothing, which was beautiful!
At Easter dinner, we each had something from the blessed basket along with an amazing assortment of dishes that the boy's mother prepared.
I enjoy getting to experience new and different cultures and it was so wonderful to be a part of something so rich in tradition.
Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend. Happy Monday!
I enjoy getting to experience new and different cultures and it was so wonderful to be a part of something so rich in tradition.
Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend. Happy Monday!