Blessing of the Easter Basket

Continuing our look at Polish Easter traditions, today we explore the blessing of the Easter basket, or Święconka (Święcenie pokarmow wiełkanocnych).

After the strictures of Lent, and the Good Friday fasting and celebration of the Lord’s Passion in church, this centuries-old tradition on Holy Saturday to sanctify the food to be eaten on Easter morning symbolizes man’s gratitude to God, and the hope that spring, the season of the Resurrection, will also be blessed by God’s goodness and mercy.

Each family assembles its own Easter basket to be blessed by the parish priest, either at church (most common) or in the home, on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.

The priest’s three-part blessing prayers specifically address the various contents of the basket, with special prayers for the meats, the eggs, and the cakes & breads. Click here for a pdf with the Polish text of the blessing prayers (an English translation is also provided). After the prayers, the priest sprinkles the basket with Holy Water.

In preparing the basket, usually it is first lined with a white linen or lace cloth. The basket can be decorated with sprigs of boxwood (bukszpan), ribbon and flowers. A candle can be added to symbolize Jesus, the light of the world.

While there is room for a great deal of creativity in creating the basket, and each family may have its own traditions, each should include some basic elements representative of the array of dishes to be consumed at the Easter breakfast the following morning. In particular, the following are usually included:

Bread
Eggs (most often decorated)
Salt
Butter
Meat (kiełbasa, ham, and/or bacon are common)
Cheese
Cake
Easter Lamb (sometimes made of butter or sugar, decorated with a little flag with the cross, and the word Allelujah)

Some baskets might also include wine, or perhaps vinegar and oil.

For more info about the blessing of the Easter basket:
The Treasured Polish Custom of “Święconka”
A Traditional Polish Easter Basket
Traditional Polish Easter Basket – Find Out What to Put in!
Święcone: What to Put in Your Polish Easter Basket
Traditional Blessing of the Easter Food Baskets
Swieconka – Easter Baskets 2020

Thanks to Mark Zajaczkowski for uploading the video below of an Easter Basket Blessing at Saint Stanislaus Parish in Hamilton [Ontario], which can also be found at https://youtu.be/JpnmMFWy5AM