“Sometimes everything has to be inscribed across the heavens so you can find the one line already written inside you.”
Chris and Lidia: recalled many meories of Polish traditions Polish Easter Customs
Easter observances in Poland actually begin on Ash Wednesday, when pussywillows called in polish "bazie" or "kotki" are cut and placed in the water.
Growing up, Easter was the worst of times, the best of times. We children were expected to fast as strictly as our parents for Lent. That meant no sweets, no meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, and lots of church services.
The reward for 40 days of "giving things up" was a great feast after Mass on Easter Sunday. As you might expect, a feast takes a lot of preparation so, from Holy Thursday on, our house was busy with kielbasa making babka or chalka baking, egg dying, and lamb cake making.
BBQ Polish Style
Blessing of the Easter Basket Foods
The
blessing of the Easter foods is a tradition dear to the hearts of every
Polish family. Being deeply religious, they are grateful to God for all
His gifts of both nature and grace. As a token of this gratitude, they
have the food of their table sanctified with the hope that spring, the
season of the Resurrection, will also be blessed by God's goodness and
mercy.
Baskets
containing a sampling of Easter foods are brought to church to be blessed
on Holy Saturday. The basket is traditionally lined with a white linen or
lace napkin and decorated with sprigs of
boxwood (bukszpan), the typical Easter evergreen.
The
blessed foods and their symbolic meanings are:
*
Egg (pisanka)—Symbol
of life and rebirth.
*
Sausage (kielbasa) or ham—All
types of pork were forbidden under the dietary code of the Old Testament
(Leviticus 11.7). The coming of Christ was seen as exceeding the old law
and the dietary items now became acceptable (Mark 7.19).
*
Paschal lamb—It can
be made of butter, cake or even plaster. It is the centerpiece of the
meal. Christ is seen as the "Lamb of God."
*
Horseradish/pepper—Symbolize
the bitter herbs of the Passover and the Exodus.
*
Salt—Joins
bread in Polish tradition as a sign of hospitality.
*
Bread—Christ
has been called "the Bread of Life."
*
Vinegar—Symbolizes
the gall given to Christ at the crucifixion.
*
Wine—Symbolizes
the blood of sacrifice spilled by Christ at the crucifixion.