Traditional Polish Easter baskets share almost nothing in common with their American counterparts. The Easter basket in Poland is full of food which will be taken to the church for a ritual blessing. The origin of preparing the basket for blessing comes from medieval times.
Filling Polish Easter Baskets
According to tradition Poles would fill a basket with token staples of the household: bread, butter, boiled eggs, salt, cheese, sausage or ham. Then they would take it to the local priest for a blessing just prior to Easter. Blessing the food was a symbolic act that indicated sufficient provision for the family during the next year.
In the present day Poles usually add sweets or a cake in the shape of a lamb, representing Christ, and something bitter, like horseradish, to symbolize suffering.
Easter eggs are the crowning touch of the Easter basket. Intricate and elaborate designs show the creativity of the maker. Polish Easter eggs can be decorated with wax curlicues or inscriptions, pisanki, painted, malowanki, , or colored with natural dyes, kraszanki.
Polish Easter Eggs
Egg decoration is an art form in Slavic cultures. Pisanki is a method known to have been used in Poland since the 10th century. The Easter eggs, duck or chicken, were washed. Then artists used a wax stylus to inscribe an Easter greeting or Easter symbols on the eggs before boiling. The wax was removed only after coloring the egg, leaving an elaborate pattern or script visible on the shell.
Painted eggs are also popular in Poland. The malowanki, vibrant with the colors of spring, are often intended for gifts and not consumption.
The naturally dyed eggs are a different matter. Kraszanki, often dyed with onion skins, beet root, or flowers, produce glossy wood brown shades of eggs. Easter symbols can then be etched into the surface with a needle. Certain geometric designs have become the signature of Easter eggs in various regions in Poland.
Blessing the Baskets, Swieconka
After preparing the beautiful eggs, Polish families place them in the Easter basket along with the other symbolic foods like Babka. Then the basket is covered with linen and trimmed with ribbons or flowers.
The next step is to carry the basket to church for a blessing, known as the swieconka. The basket is blessed on the day before Easter in time-honored tradition.
Finally the Easter basket reaches its ultimate destination: the breakfast table. The blessed foods, especially the eggs, play an important role in Easter breakfast.
In common with many other Slavic nations, preparing a basket for blessing is an intrinsic part of the Polish Easter holidays. For those with Polish heritage (or those without!) filling a traditional Easter basket is a special and memorable way to keep the holiday.
Josanna Simpson - Josanna Simpson, who holds a BA in Literature, is an aspiring novelist in her late twenties with a passion for British literature and the ...
