The Easter Basket Blessing: Looking Forward to a Cherished Parish Tradition

The longstanding Catholic tradition of the blessing of the Easter basket will once again take place here at St. John the Baptist Parish. Parishioners are invited to bring their Easter baskets to the church at 10 a.m. on Holy Saturday, April 16, for the blessing by Fr. Butler.

St. John the Baptist Parish has been observing this Eastern European custom for the last 20 years, and each year more families are taking part as they discover the meaning this practice holds for the Easter message of joy in Christ’s resurrection.

The tradition enables the sense of community to grow in our parish.

“More people learn about it, and they learn the purpose of the items in the basket, and they understand how they relate to the Easter message,” says Chuck Durancik, parish bookkeeper, who has fond childhood memories of the ceremony in his home parish.

According to tradition, on Holy Saturday morning, families bring their decorated Easter baskets filled with symbolic foods. The baskets are placed on the steps leading to the altar and are blessed in a brief ceremony. The foods become part of the meal enjoyed after the Easter Sunday Resurrection Mass.

Tradition calls for the baskets to be lined with a white cloth and decorated with ribbons, flowers, and other greenery to call to mind renewal, spring, and Christ’s resurrection. Although some of the foods placed in the baskets may vary according to each family, the foods typically included are decorated hardboiled eggs, representing Christ’s resurrection; lamb-shaped butter or sugar representing Christ as the “Lamb of God;” bread, a reminder that Jesus is the “bread of life;” meat, such as kielbasa or ham; horseradish, pepper, oil and vinegar that symbolizes the Passion of Christ and the bitter herbs of Passover; salt, standing for prosperity and justice; cheese; wine, symbolic of the Blood of Christ.

“We also put kolachis and pierogis in the basket, and a white candle is included,” Chuck says. “Some families will also put a little candy in the basket.”

Some families also prepare decorated baskets filled with Easter sweets for their children to bring to the ceremony.

After the basket is filled, it is covered with a white cloth to symbolize Christ’s shroud.

The Easter basket blessing ceremony offers an opportunity for parishioners to gather in celebration of the ending of the Lenten fast that once forbade meat, eggs, and fats.

Anyone who would like more information about the blessing may call the parish office at 815-498-2010.