Poland has a number of unique Easter-related rituals, many of which include homemade delicacies. One of them is the "święconka" - the tradition of preparing the Easter food baskets and bringing them to church for blessing on the Saturday directly preceding Easter. The first attested mentions of Easter food blessing in Polish lands dates back to the early 14th century - although the tradition was originally associated with Easter Sunday itself, and its form evolved over time.
Made of wicker or a similar woody material, lined with a white linen or lace napkin, and decorated with sprigs of boxwood (and possibly some willow catkins too), a proper basket shall contain a sampling of traditional Polish Easter foods: pisanki (hand-decorated hard-boiled eggs), a piece of sausage or ham, horseradish, salt and pepper, bread, a piece of cake - and an Easter Lamb made of sugar or butter (although nowadays some take an easy route and use a less-traditional plastic one, with no intent of consumption in this particular case). Such a set symbolizes various elements of the Easter story.
All across Poland - and in numerous places abroad - this particular tradition has proven to be very much alive, as crowds of Poles flocked to Churches on Saturday with their meticulously prepared baskets.
It is also worth mentioning that in some cases the basket-blessing in Poland takes quite an unusual form. In the southcentral town of Bochnia, for example, each year plenty of the local and visiting faithful descend 200-plus meters underground, to get their food blessed in the 200-year-old Chapel of Saint Kinga - Poland's deepest placed active place of worship, located in the country's oldest salt mine.
Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Białystok, the region's metropolitan Archbishop Józef Guzdek blessed baskets in two locations: in the city center and... on the ultras stand of the city's leading football club Jagiellonia. Blessing food in the latter of these places started in 2010 - and already became a local tradition, eagerly attended by the city's residents.
Furthermore, as this year on the Easter Saturday evening, third-placed Jagiellonia hosts the table-topping Lech Poznań (who leads by just 3 points), the region's archbishop ordered an additional Easter Vigil liturgy in the church near the stadium, celebrated at 5 p.m. - two hours earlier than traditionally. All this is to ensure that the local fans wishing to attend can make it in time for the evening game, which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. local time.
Easter in Poland is celebrated according to the Western Roman Catholic calendar - and Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. Local rites and practices are marked by Christianity, but still remain strongly influenced by the local pagan traditions. It is also usual for both modern and conservative families to partake in the celebrations, regardless of what their religious beliefs may be.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Culture.pl