An Easter basket, also known as a Paschal basket, is a
basket
A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff Fiber, fibers, and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, Stolon, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials ...
used during the Christian
Easter
Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
season. In different times and places across the various
Christian branches, Easter baskets have served different purposes. For adults, Easter baskets may have deep religious significance and be blessed by a priest. In modern times, the baskets may be filled with food or toys and presented to children as gifts. They are also used by children to gather hidden eggs during
egg hunts.
Traditional
Eastern Christianity
An Easter basket contains the foods traditionally forbidden to consume during Lent (meat, eggs, and dairy products) that is blessed by a priest for breaking the
Lenten
Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthe ...
fast. This continues to be normative in
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...
and Easter baskets are typically blessed before the midnight service on
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...
, with their contents being consumed at the feast after the service.
Traditions for Easter in Eastern European countries often includes blessing of baskets.
Western Christianity
In parts
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...
, emphasis is placed on making a
Lenten sacrifice (giving up pleasures such as chocolate and cookies) rather than the traditional abstinence from meat, dairy products, and wine (though a few congregations have revived this practice); as such, in countries of the Western world such as the United States, Easter baskets are filled with Easter eggs and sweets after having abstained from them during Lent.
Parents may hide eggs and/or baskets.
Poland
In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, ''
Święconka'' or "the blessing of the Easter baskets" is a central tradition on
Holy Saturday
Holy Saturday (), also known as Great and Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Hallelujah Saturday, Saturday of the Glory, Easter Eve, Joyous Saturday, the Saturday of Light, Good Saturday, or Black Saturday, among other names, is t ...
.
The tradition dates back to the 13-14th century in its earliest form.
[Ks, Marian Pisarzak MIC. Błogosławienie pokarmów wielkanocnych. Kontekst paschalny i postny. op. cit. Błogosławieństwo pokarmów i napojów wielkanocnych w Polsce. Studium historyczno-liturgiczne. Warsaw 1979, p. 378. rzypisy tamże/ref> The basket is traditionally lined with a white linen or lace napkin and decorated with sprigs of boxwood (bukszpan), the typical Easter evergreen. Baskets containing a sampling of Easter foods are brought to church to be blessed on Holy Saturday. After the blessing, the baskets of food are then set aside until Easter morning.][
]
Modern innovations in the United States
Congregations and synods
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...
have made Easter baskets to be given to needy children or elderly persons. These have been filled with Easter eggs, candy, and toys.
References
Notes
Citations
{{Easter
Easter food
Basket weaving
Easter Bunny
Easter liturgy
Baskets