A Family Easter Tradition
This morning, I was speaking with my publicist, Lisa Schuble, who shared a lovely Polish Easter tradition that has been in her family for years.
I loved her “Blue Brain” family’s story and I asked Lisa if she would allow me to post it on my blog. I hope you will enjoy the story as much as I did.
“With Easter right around the corner, I was reminiscing about how excited I use to get for Easter Sunday. Being raised Polish Catholic, ever since I was a young child, I remember getting up early on Easter Saturday and going to the Catholic church to get our Sunday Easter Baskets blessed.
On Good Friday, my mother would prepare our basket that we would take to the church on Easter Saturday at 11am. Included in the basket was always the same thing: The butter lamb, a sample of honey baked ham, from the famous Honey Baked Ham Co., 3 pieces of Polish Sausage from Joe and Frank’s Market on Archer Avenue in Chicago, hard-boiled, colored Easter eggs that were decorated on the evening of Good Friday with all of the members of my immediate family’s names on them, Todd my brother, Rita my mother, Don my father, Nana and Papa, my grandparents from my fathers side, and Grandma and Dziadzia my grandparents on my mothers side, and now my sister-in-law Stacy, and my boyfriend Brad.
My mother also includes a variety of Easter pastries including Italian cookies (these are cookies that my Nana use to bake) and now my mother took over the tradition after my Nana’s passing, as well as another pastry, which is a type of Italian pound cake. Although my mother tries every year to make this, it doesn’t turn out like my Nana’s use to. But she tries.
At 11am we would go to church at either Incarnation Catholic Parish in Crestwood, IL or St. Alexander’s Parish in Palos Heights, IL and stand in church with other members of the parish with our Easter Basket of goods and have the priest say a few prayers and as a group, have our baskets blessed with holy water.
The ceremony lasts about 20 minutes and when it is all done, everyone takes their baskets with them to the front of the alter and the priest takes a picture. This has been a Polish tradition as long as I can remember, and only highly populated Catholic Parishes believe in this tradition. Although everyone has different things in their basket, it’s the memory and the family tradition that I will always keep with me, and I would definitely like to do the tradition with my family one day.”
My “Green Brain” enjoyed researching and reading about the Easter celebrations and traditions.
Lisa, Thank you for sharing your family tradition with me!
I hope you and your family (and my readers who celebrate Easter) enjoy a meaningful, blessed and lovely Easter Holiday!
Sheila N. Glazov, Author, Personality Type Expert, Professional Speaker and Educator
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