My Polish Easter

Tradition is often the fabric in which we stitch our lives, it binds us to the past and propels us into a culture in which we might not fully understand but often embrace with loving arms. Easter for me is one of these traditions. Even though my father was Bohemian and my mother Polish, my mother’s side of the family were much closer knit and so at an early age I was steeped in the Polish traditions and culture.

I remember sitting on my grandmother’s knee as she taught me how to color Easter eggs. I remember the sweet rich aroma of the beeswax as we heated the stylus in the candle flame and then drew intricate designs onto the surface of the eggshells. Always starting from lightest to dark, we dipped our eggs into the colorful rich dyes which we had to buy specifically at the local neighborhood store. And in the end the egg looked like this darken mass with scares and burnt wax but when you heated that wax, the beauty appeared and a creation so wondrous took flight. Perhaps this was my first introduction to the world of art, which I have not forgotten to this day, by taking something so ordinary like the shell of an egg and creating a work of beauty.

And there were hidden meanings within those designs which told a story, and so art became drama on my grandmother’s knee as I was told about Christ, and faith, and what it is to believe.

And we gathered all our eggs and other things and put them in a basket to be blessed by a priest on the Saturday before Easter, and this special food became our feast on Easter morning.

Much like the Passover Seder each food had a meaning and purpose and told of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection. And as children we were forced to eat the complete opened faced sandwich no mater how much we complained, because we had to endure the agonies of Christ sufferings represented in the horseradish in order to enjoy sweetness of the resurrection represented in the egg.

Different families and regions had slight variations to the traditional Easter breakfast, but for the most part they contained eggs and bread, sausage and cheese, horseradish and salt, and sweet creamed butter in the shape of a lamb. I never really understood what the cheese and sausage stood for other than the abundance and good life in Christ, but everything else had a deep religious and symbolic meaning.

The Egg

The egg represented Christ emerging from the tomb, much like a chick breaking free from its shell; Jesus broke free from the bonds of death and emerged for the tomb transformed, just as he transforms us.

The Horseradish

Horseradish was often combined with a little beet juice representing Christ’s blood, and together they represented the agony of Christ’s death upon the cross and what he had to suffer in order to save us from our sins.

The Salt

The salt represented the tears of Christ (even though in some cultures it can represent the salt of the earth) I was taught that Christ wept for our sins and these were the tears that Christ cried every time we misbehaved.

The Bread

In our family we always used Jewish Rye Bread to represent the rich Jewish culture in which Jesus came from. So that we never forgot the roots of our own religion, this was both a tribute and homage to the Jewish faith in which in our family we held in high esteem. It also represented the bread of life and harkened back to the Eucharist which we ate each day at mass.

The Butter

The butter had to be unsalted, white creamery butter, which was formed into the shape of a lamb, representing the Lamb of God; the sacrificial animal which is slaughtered at Passover for the sins of a nation. So to Christ was slaughtered for our sins and became the salvation for us all.

As I said I’m a little unsure as to the exact meaning of the cottage cheese and kielbasa in which we consumed in our opened faced sandwich, but my research suggests the following.

The Sausage

Most of the time it was Polish kielbasa made specifically for Easter, I think it had a higher percentage of pork or ham which somehow represented the new covenant free from the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament. Some resources suggest that it might represent God's favor and generosity.

The Cottage Cheese

OK this one does not always appear in a lot of peoples baskets but we always used large curd cottage cheese, some people used farmers cheese, and other people used a custard-type cheese made from eggs and shaped into a ball. It somehow represents the goodness or abundance of life in Christ; I personally think it was there to counteract the harshness of the horseradish, but for some reason I never got the full significance of its meaning or its relationship to Holy Week or Easter. But when forced to endure the agony of Christ sufferings (i.e. the horseradish sauce) I was sure glad it was there.

And so this unusual Passover Seder was presented to us every Easter morning after Mass and is a tradition I continue to this day. Even when I am alone I make this special breakfast as homage to my mother and the rich heritage she gave me, and I remember Christ; his passion, death, and resurrection, and praise Him for the sacrifices He made on our behalf.

I hope everyone has a blessed and glorious Easter, I’m taking Holy Week off, and I will see all of you when we once more will sing the glorious alleluia in celebration of Christ love.

Stay healthy, stay safe, and as always

Peace.

Jerry (aka FatMan911)