MOUNTAIN TOP — A beloved tradition brought many Mountain Top families — and their Easter baskets — to St. Jude Parish on Saturday afternoon.
The annual blessing of the baskets took place inside the parish’s gymnasium, with over 40 baskets lining the tables set up for the event.
Rev. Joe Evanko, the parish’s pastor, prayed over each one.
“We continue to do it because, as you can see, a lot of people like to come,” Evanko said.
The basket blessing is a Polish tradition that takes place each Holy Saturday, when the baskets and their contents are prayed over, typically by a priest. Basket contents vary by family, but most tend to include the food they plan to eat on Easter Sunday, such as ham, kielbasa, cheese, and bread.
For many in attendance at St. Jude Parish’s blessing of the baskets, the event has been a part of their lives since childhood.
That is certainly the case for Denise O’Connor, who attends the event each Easter season.
“It’s the holiest of holy traditions,” she said. “I have memories of being a child doing it with my mom and sisters.”
The blessing offers a way for members of the church to include their religious practice at the dinner table.
“It connects the spirituality of a family gathering for their first Easter meal with what we do in church around the altar,” Evanko said.
During the blessing, he made sure to reference each possible food group presented in the baskets before him. According to Evanko, each food has theological symbolism: Ham is symbolic of joy and abundance, bread is symbolic of Jesus Christ, horseradish represents his bitter sacrifice.
The gymnasium was packed, with only standing room left by the time the blessing started. Even the tables had little room left for additional baskets.
Once the event had ended, families went on their way, baskets in hand, but not before conversing with each other about the upcoming Easter holiday.
St. Jude’s Parish holds Mass Monday through Friday at 7 a.m., Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m., and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
