The blessing of Easter foods is a very important tradition in Slavic countries. This custom, especially significant for Polish people, indicates joyful time and has a deep liturgical and spiritual meaning.
For Poles, the blessing of special Easter food takes place on Holy Saturday. The selection of goods is not accidental. Food that will be put on the Easter table needs to be prepared at home and includes bread, eggs, meat, salt and pepper and horseradish.
Bread symbolizes Jesus, the bread of life; boiled eggs signify the resurrection and the emergence of a new life; meat, such as lamb or sausage, represents wealth and abundance; salt, being a very important preservative, has acquired a symbolic significance as a product that protects from decomposing and indicates faith, virtue and truth; horseradish represents the Passion of Christ.
Easter eggs can be brightly coloured and decorated.
They are the favourite object of the national, Polish art and are known as “pisanki”. Beautiful colouring and complex patterns can be achieved by using wax on eggs and soaking them in a choice of colourful dies.
The prepared foods are placed in an Easter basket and brought to the church where the priest blesses it on Holy Saturday. The blessed food is consumed on Easter Sunday.
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