Perhaps your parish arranges a “blessing of Easter baskets” on Holy Saturday.
Families bring baskets full of delicious food, often beautifully decorated with ribbons and flowers, shrouded in a white linen cloth, to be blessed by the priest. The food is then taken home, to be shared on Easter morning.
This tradition comes to us from Poland (where it’s called święconka) and other Eastern European countries.
The items in the basket all carry a significant meaning. They vary by region and cultural tradition, but here are a few of the most common ones:
- Bacon: the abundance of God’s goodness
- Butter: the richness of our salvation
- Lamb: Jesus, the Lamb of God
- Easter bread: the risen Christ
- Eggs: the Resurrection and the new life that Christ has brought us
- Kiełbasa links: the chains of death that Christ has broken, and, like bacon, the abundance of His gifts
- Salt: purification, freedom from corruption, immortality
- Sweets: Heaven
The baskets are often richly decorated with ribbons, lined with an embroidered napkin, and overlaid with a linen cloth representing the shroud of Christ. Sprigs of boxwood—the Easter evergreen—are an especially popular feature in Poland.
Here at Get Fed, we wish you all the abundant blessings of God as together we celebrate the impending feast of His Resurrection. May your Easter feast be filled with the joy of the risen Christ.
Pope St. John Paul II expressed this joy when he said, quoting St. Augustine: “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.” Remind yourself of these hopeful words during your Easter feast with our exclusive JPII Easter People Dish Towel. Featuring Pope John Paul’s words and a bright floral design, this Catholic Company exclusive will bring a ray of Easter joy to your home during this holy season and throughout the year. Available today at The Catholic Company!
Happy Easter, everyone!
