By Mary Ellen Day, Special to the News
Easter blessing of the food
continues Polish tradition
Blessing
ÿ8BLESSING ÿ
Mary Ellen Day
Special Writer
Sacred Heart Church will uphold Polish tradition with its annual blessing of the food for the Easter holiday Saturday.
A piece of the traditional food of ham, sausages and cakes usually is brought for the ýPage=001 Column=001 OK,0000.00þ
blessing in a small, decorated basket. Other foods include babka and homemade breads, colored pisanki eggs, salt, pepper, wine, vinegar and horseradish. The basket is lined with a white napkin, and another napkin covers the food on the way to the church.
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Baskets are made pretty by adding a decorative bow, sprigs of greens or pussy willows or little flowers to the handle. Housewives or children — a few keeping the tradition of Polish dress — carry the basket to the church. .
Easter Day after Mass, the family returns home to gather and eat their breakfast of blessed food items.
Ham celebrates the freedom of the New Law, which came into effect through the resurrection because the Old Law forbade certain meats.
Bread, especially the round pascha loaf of rich dough and raisins and decorated with a cross, reminds the faithful of the risen Lord. The eggs are a sign of hope and ýPage=003 Column=003 OK,0009.03þ
resurrection, and the horseradish represents the bitter herbs prescribed in the original Passover meal.
Some butter, cheese and dairy products are included to celebrate the end of the Lenten fast. The salt symbolizes wisdom and preservation from corruption, and the vinegar is symbolic of what was offered to Jesus Christ as he hung dying on the cross. Cakes, pastries and candy remind of the sweetness of the faith.
The food in the Easter celebration will be blessed in the church auditorium Holy Saturday at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and 1, 2 and 3 p.m. At noon, the blessing will take place outside, weather permitting, to accommodate those who cannot use the stairs to get down in the auditorium.
