Just got back from church. We had the Easter Basket blessed. The priest had a hard time controlling himself! He wanted a piece of my mom’s Hrudka!

Here’s a list of items we include in our Easter Basket and their meaning:

Pascha: The Easter bread – a sweet, rich egg bread decorated with braids, crosses, or plaits looking like a crown. It is usually round and is symbolic of Christ who is our true Bread of Life.

Ham: This meat is popular for its richness and symbolic of the great joy and abundance of Easter. Some people may also have lamb or veal.

Hrudka or Sirets: (egg cheese): this is a custard-type cheese made from eggs and shaped into a ball. It is mild and usually sweet, representing the moderation that Christians should have in all things.

Kielbasa: These sausages are spicy and garlic seasoned, are usually of pork and indicative of God’s favor and generosity.

Butter: This favorite dairy product is often shaped into a lamb or is decorated with a cross. It reminds us of the goodness of Christ that we should have toward all things.

Eggs: Eggs are brightly decorated with many symbols, like triple-bar crosses, suns, stars, flowers, birds of water motifs. These elaborately decorated eggs are known as pysanki and have been an artistic expression of the season due to the intricacies of the designs and the number of colors used. Eggs are symbolic of new life and resurrection.

Horesradish (Chrin) Horesradish is usually mixed with grated red beets, symbolic of the Passion of Christ, but sweetened with some sugar because of the Resurrection. This bitter-sweet mixture represents the sufferings of Christ.

Each basket is covered with a cloth usually embroidered with the words “Christ is Risen” and containing a lighted candle, which is also usually decorated. The articles are placed in a WICKER basket, and a ribbon or bow is tied to the handle. A DECORATED CANDLE is placed in the basket and lit at the time of blessing. A LINEN COVER, normally quite intricately embroidered with various Resurrection themes and symbols of Christ, or simply an intricate multi-colored border and the words “CHRISTOS VOSKRES” OR “CHRIST IS RISEN” (depending which language is more appealing to you) is placed over the food. These baskets of food are brought to the church to be blessed after the Resurrection Service. All meals on Easter Sunday are eaten from the basket, so that no one need be busy with preparation of additional food on such a solemn Holy Day.

Pretty much word for word except for the slightest bit of tweaking from TRADITIONAL EASTER BASKET By Debra Beckerman