Every Easter my family gathers specific foods to be blessed on Holy Saturday.

• Salt
• Pepper
• Bacon
• Ham
• Eggs (hard cooked and dyed)
• Kolbasi (kielbasa)
• Horseradish
• Homemade Braided Bread
• Butter (molded into the shape of a lamb)

Early on Holy Saturday morning, we put a cloth into our wicker picnic basket, add the food items listed above and head to Church to have them blessed. At St. Catherine's this year, the blessing will be given after the morning prayers that begin at 9:00 am on Saturday, April 4, 2015.

The next morning, Easter Sunday, we go to Mass and then about 11:00 am, the entire family (and often a few friends) gathers at our house to share the blessed food as Easter Breakfast. Since we have a large family, there is usually more food than can fit into the basket so we put labels on the table and have the blessed food on one side and the remaining, unblessed food on the other. We try to let everyone have a little of each blessed food and then continue with the food that has not been blessed if they are still hungry.

Other families add additional items such as Easter candy, sweet bread, wine and/or a custard-like cheese to their baskets. The cloth used in the basket is usually white and some people use a special cloth that is embroidered with Easter symbols such as a cross or a lamb. Some also include spring flowers to decorate the basket. Whatever a family does, the custom of blessing foods for Easter is a nice way to celebrate this very special holiday and a wonderful way of remembering why we do so.

For additional information and to learn why each specific food is included, go to Google.com and search How to Put Together a Traditional Easter Basket. You’ll find a wealth of information.

Happy Easter!
Stephanie Harakal

 print 

© 2022 Saint Catherine's - 31 Asbury Road, Farmingdale, New Jersey 07727 | phone: 732-938-5375 | fax: 732-938-3260
Religious Education 732-938-6229