A venerable tradition in the Byzantine Church is the blessing
of Easter Baskets. It is a very symbolic and tasty custom. These
baskets of food are brought to the church to be blessed after
the Resurrection matins Service. The foods represent the foods
abstained from during Lent: eggs, meat, butter, rich breads
and more. All meals on Easter Sunday are eaten from the basket,
so that no one need be busy with preparation of additional food
on such a solemn Holy Day.
Each basket is covered with a cloth usually embroidered with
the words "Christ is Risen" and containing a lighted
candle, which is also usually decorated. The traditional basket
contains the Easter bread called Pascha, Ham, Hrudka or Siret
egg cheese), sausages, kolbasi, butter, hard-boiled decorated
eggs (Pysanki), horseradish and beet mixture (Chrin), bacon,
and salt. The contents of the basket vary from family to family
in terms of additional meats, wine, pastries, candy and other
treats. The traditional foods all have symbolic meaning which
are briefly summarized as follows:
Pascha: The Easter bread - a sweet, rich egg bread decorated
with braids, crosses, or plaits looking like a crown. It is
usually round and is symbolic of Christ who is our true Bread
of Life.
Ham: This meat is popular for its richness and symbolic
of the great joy and abundance of Easter. Some people may also
have lamb or veal.
Hrudka or Sirets: (egg cheese): this is a custard-type
cheese made from eggs and shaped into a ball. It is mild and
usually sweet, representing the moderation that Christians should
have in all things.
Sausages and Kolbasi: These sausages are spicy and garlic
seasoned, are usually of pork and indicative of God's favor
and generosity.
Butter: This favorite dairy product is often shaped
into a lamb or is decorated with a cross. It reminds us of the
goodness of Christ that we should have toward all things.
Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs are brightly decorated with many
symbols, like triple-bar crosses, suns, stars, flowers, birds
of water motifs. Elaborately decorated eggs or pysanki have
been an artistic expression of the season due to the intricacies
of the designs and the number of colors used. Eggs are symbolic
of new life and resurrection.
Horesradish (Chrin) Horesradish is usually mixed with
grated red beets, symbolic of the Passion of Christ, but sweetened
with some sugar because of the Resurrection. This bitter-sweet
mixture represents the sufferings of Christ.
Bacon: A piece of uncooked bacon is cured with spices.
It is symbolic of the overabundance of God's mercy to us.
Salt: This condiment enhances flavor reminding the Christian
of his duty to others.
The articles are placed in a WICKER basket, and a ribbon or
bow is tied to the handle. A DECORATED CANDLE is placed in the
basket and lit at the time of blessing. A LINEN COVER, normally
quite intricately embroidered with various Resurrection themes
and symbols of Christ, or simply an intricate multi-colored
border and the words "CHRISTOS VOSKRES" OR "CHRIST
IS RISEN" (depending which language is more appealing to
you) is placed over the food when it is brought to the church.
It is customary to break one's Easter Fast with foods blessed
at this time and only *then* proceeding to the foods now ready
on groaning tables, foods which have been in process of preparation
for the past three days.
For those of you who can NOT be here, may St. Athanasius parish
extend our sincerest wishes for a joyous and a blessed Easter,
an Easter which brings nothing but an abundance of all good
things from the hand of a merciful and a generous God to you
and to all your loved ones.
Christ is Risen! - - - Indeed He is Risen!
Christos Voskrese! ------- Voistinu Voskrese!
