Easter Basket, a Tradition

- Image credit blog.activeukraine.com

 

I`m all Canadian and my heritage is mostly Polish, and Ukrainian, but I must admit it is the Ukrainian that tends to shine through at Easter. Despite being not entirely Ukrainian, mostly a bad Catholic, I grew up in a Canadian Prairie community with deep Ukrainian roots. While I may not know what it is like to be Ukrainian being raised Canadian. What I do know is that the Holiday traditions of Ukraine, and Ukrainian Dance shaped some of the best, most awe inspiring, and cherished memories of my childhood. Our school had a Ukrainian Immersion program, and hosted after school Ukrainian Dance lessons. While I never learned the language like my sister did, and I didn't dance very well, I always have an appreciation for the people and the traditions that molded my childhood. One thing I can do is cook.

This year like every year, I want to make a traditional Easter Basket for blessing of the baskets and I want to share the tradition with you. So what is different about this year? I am going to attempt to make everything in the basket other than the meat products myself. You'll get to see if I manage ok or if I end up on "Pintrosity". If I fail at making something I will at least show you some great places that are making wonderful traditional food. I had the amazing chance a few years ago to travel Eastern Europe during Easter taking in the celebrations in Greece. While I almost got smacked in the face by a large Easter Lamb being hoisted by a burly Greek guy at the market it was positively amazing to see the celebrations. I got to visit Poland as well but was unable to take the time to see Ukraine in person, given the conflict that lies there now I truly wish I had, had the chance.

Traditional Easter baskets are not complicated, most of the food contained in there is fairly easy to source, but the wow factor of having a traditional basket full of your Easter Meal is pretty magical.

Generally the food from our family Easter Basket was used to make a private Easter Breakfast for our family. Only a select few basket items ever made it to the dinner with extended family, and friends later in the evening. Mother always said the blessed food always tastes best. My family likes to eat a lot, and cook a lot, but in the busy world of today a traditional Easter Basket can make for a quick and magical Easter Breakfast with very little effort the day of serving it. Most of the items can be served cold and keep well overnight. That is why I think even those who are not Ukrainian or religious may find this an enjoyable tradition to partake in. While the food items carry religious representation in the traditional sense, they also make a wonderful and convenient breakfast for a busy family on Easter morning. As bad a Catholic as I am, I am sure anyone can make a traditional Easter Basket, I promise I haven’t been hit by lightning once yet.

You get up, the kids have their egg hunt, you have to feed everyone then you have to get preparing dinner for company, clean up after the family in the morning and organize the house. A traditional Easter Basket can help you fast track the day, and is a truly beautiful tradition. For those of us living with a smaller family, or just starting out, or just not planning to have a family of their own (I'm not one for kids myself) a traditional Easter basket can be a romantic and special holiday treat. When you move out on your own maybe you don't make it home every holiday, sometimes we stop taking the time to make things special, and it leaves us wishing we had something special to mark the day. We may be too old to want to crawl around looking for chocolate eggs (although I'm personally never to old for anything that ends in chocolate) but an Easter basket is a special way to celebrate Easter and is sure to make it memorable.

I hope you will join me in my adventure of putting together my yearly basket. Hopefully some of  you will join me, or see this old tradition as a fun and useful addition to you own Easter celebration, or just enjoy reading along. Check back for my next post when we go over the elements of a traditional Easter basket.