Traditional blessing of Easter Food

Each year on Holy Saturday our Parish Priest blesses meat, bread and eggs brought in by families that will be used for their Easter feast. I've been told that this is an ancient Catholic tradition that has survived best in Eastern Europe - Poland in particular where it is referred to as Święconka or in some regions Święcone. I'm half Polish, although grew up without any Polish customs or traditions in my family, so it's lovely to incorporate this into our family Easter rituals - so my quarter-Polish children have some sense of the Grandfather's culture.  


The prayers are particularly beautiful and remind us of the passover and the resurrection. Today the families who brought in their food also received a blessing and together we prayed Blessed Pope John Paul II's Prayer for Families. 

After the rigours of Lent -- and particularly Holy Week -- this simple ceremony feels like a gentle push towards the coming celebrations of the glory of the Resurrection. 

I wish all my readers a blessed and happy Eastertide. Blogging will resume after Easter and I will pray for you all at the Easter Vigil this evening.
 

Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!

Święcone - Blessing of Easter Food

Traditionally on Holy Saturday food to be eaten in the Easter feast is brought to the parish to be blessed. A traditional blessing includes prayers over the meat, eggs and bread as well as salt. The tradition has been kept alive by Polish Catholics, and for the past two years our Parish Priest has invited families to bring baskets of food representing their Easter meal to Church on Holy Saturday for the blessing (Święcone in Polish - rather close to my maiden name!). As I'm half-Polish and our children are, therefore, one quarter Polish, we thought this was a good practice to add to our family traditions. The photo is our our basket this year  - bread, eggs from our our chickens, and lamb prepared with sea-salt and rosemary. 


We've abstained from meat during Holy Week - my youngest has woken up every morning for the last three days asking "Can I have sausages NOW?"  so we will appreciate this meal when its time comes.
                 
               ... not long to go until we can celebrate. 
                                          
                                            Not long now to wait for the Resurrection.

Wishing you all a happy and blessed Easter!