It's tradition in my Polish/American family to have our food blessed on Easter Saturday. I pack up our basket with home made bread, a lamb butter, colored eggs. Polish sausage, a bag of candy...Other families add other things, wine, ham, whatever is traditional in their own homes.
This guy makes me laugh throughout the short ceremony. It's a quiet time for us to reflect and enjoy a moment of calm before the work of preparing a brunch for 30 begins.
The basket is sprinkled with Holy Water and you may leave a donation of food or funds for the food pantry at our Parish.
I know that Mom and Buscia are looking down and smiling to know that our family tradition continues. In fact, my nephew Greg is dating a Polish girl and also had a basket blessed at their Parish. It's important that the next generation appreciates this and all of our family traditions. It's what holds a family together.
We had a beautiful day for an egg hunt. All the participants had bunny ears, compliments of Auntie Mindy. Grandpa and Amanda hid about 6 dozen eggs filled with change and the metallic dozen had dollar bills and a couple of fives! So much fun to watch. They were having a great time. Later Jon held races for the kids. The cousins all get along, and love each other so much.
Our smallest sweetheart was content to use her two tiny teeth to shred a bagel and watch the festivities.
This girl said I could take a photo... that's Elizabeth in the back.
If she could take one of me!
I am far too busy to remember to take a photo of the casseroles as they come out of the oven and the crowd starts filling their plates. This is the aftermath... So many flowers, from Elizabeth, my niece Michele, the leaf picked by one of my beautiful little nieces.
The hydrangea from Elizabeth. All the little baskets, plates and do dads that go into hosting an event need to be sorted out and put away.
Casseroles, bowls, plates, tins... My SIL's helped clean and clear the tables, washed many of the dishes. Thanks Elizabeth and Mindy!
... platters, so many serving pieces accumulated through out 32 years since I've taken over the family holidays. There are even move flowers back there. When you have all the serving pieces, utensils and such it makes for a much easier time.
The peeps and assorted candy...we are blessed with so much...an embarrassment of riches, I always say.
Considering the crowd, the house held us all. The deck was used and the yard was full of happy children. Our family is so important to me and my husband, we hope to host many more happy holidays.
The bunnies, ducks and lambs on the stairs were all played with and rearranged.
A very Happy Easter was had by all.
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind comments.
Enjoy this beautiful day.
Love, Penny
3 comments:
I love your Bless the Food Basket tradition
and the donating food/giving gift for the Food Pantry too.
Thirty people is one stuffed house.
Happy there was the deck, outdoor, inside possibilities for all those people.
And . . . oh my . . the flowers! How very nice.
Good 'dea young P . . .
If granny takes a pic of you, than you have a turn on her.
Surely sounds and looks like it was a beautiful Easter Day!
Happy Springy days Penny!
I can remember Easter Basket blessing when I was young. We grew up on the Southside of Chicago in a predominantly polish neighborhood. My stepfather was Polish and my mother was Scottish. So the basket blessing became a tradition. We would go to my Step-Granmothers house for Easter dinner and she would give us all a piece of the blessed food. My favorite Easter food was the beet horseradish (chrzan?). Now years later, when it's my turn to host, I'm still making those dishes along with some Scottish food and traditional ham!
Glad you had a good Easter. Thank you for bringing back some memories.
How blessed you are to have so many family members gather at your house! I can't even imagine hosting a meal for 30. Sadly, my extended family doesn't gather often for holidays anymore. I have wonderful memories as a kid, with all of us gathered in either my great-aunt's or aunt's houses. This Easter, it was just us and my mom gathered around our little table.
Did you get your hair cut?
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