Polish Easter

Easter is major holiday in Poland, and Easter celebrations are not limited to Easter Sunday. Easter-related traditions take place for more than a week in Poland. From Palm Sunday to Wet Monday, this period is marked with religious rites and practices with their origins in pagan times.

In many Eastern European countries, it is a tradition to have a basket of food blessed on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday.

In Poland, blessing of the baskets is known as święcenie pokarmow wielkanocnych, a practice dating to the 15th century or earlier, and one which is still maintained by most families in Poland on Holy Saturday, as is the sharing of oplatki on Christmas Eve, two customs also observed by many Polish-Americans.

The food items in the święconka , or Easter basket (the term also refers to the Easter Sunday breakfast at which the święcone or blessed food is eaten), have special significance. The basket is lined with an embroidered cloth or traditional folk fabric. The filled basket is covered with a white linen cloth (some have a colorful crocheted edging or embroidered design), representing the shroud of Christ. The basket is decorated with sprigs of boxwood (bukszpan) or Polish "palms" made from dried flowers and colorful paper.

My Easter basket this year

A typical basket would include symbolic foods like these.

Bacon - - Symbol of the abundance of God's mercy.

Bread -  The staff of life given by God.

Easter Bread -  A round loaf of rich, eggy, yeast dough with raisins reminiscent of the risen Lord.

Butter -  Dairy products are included to celebrate the end of Lent and the richness of our salvation. Butter is often shaped into a lamb (symbolic of the Paschal Lamb) and known as a baranek. (When the baranek is made of sugar, it is known as baranek cukrowy wielkanocny). Sometimes the baranek is made of dough, wood or even plastic.

Colored Eggs -  Both colored and uncolored hard-cooked eggs indicate hope, new life and Christ rising from his tomb.

My colored eggs

Ham -  Meats are symbolic of great joy and abundance in celebration of Christ's Resurrection.

Sausage - The sausage links are symbolic of the chains of death that were broken when Jesus rose from the dead as well as of God's generosity.

Horseradish - This is a reminder of the bitterness and harshness of the Passion of Jesus and the vinegar it is mixed with symbolizes the sour wine given to Jesus on the cross.

Salt -  Salt symbolizes is represented to add zest to life and preserve us from corruption.

Sweets -Sweets suggest the promise of eternal life or good things to come.

My Easter Breakfast table

Easter Sunday in Poland is celebrated with an Easter breakfast. Easter breakfast includes the foods blessed on Easter Saturday as well as other traditional Easter foods and is typically a family-oriented occasion. Hard boiled eggs and cold meats like sausage often make up the Polish Easter breakfast.

 Stuffed Eggs and Salomon Terrine