How to put together a Traditional Pascha Basket
If the weather is good, the blessing will be done outside on the lawn, with all the parish gathered around, and a huge array of brightly-decorated and overflowing baskets awaiting the censer, holy water, and blessings, which are chanted in the ancient tones, and accompanied by the congregation led by a cantor.
It has been brought to my attention that perhaps they might wish to prepare a basket for the service, but don't know how. Here is how it is customarily done. There are traditional foods among every Slavic group; Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, Serb, Croat, Slovenian, Montenegrin, Macedonian. (Yes, Macedonians are Slavs - and so was old Philip-One-Eye and his prodigy of a son, Alexander. Macedonians remain Slavs, though most of the Western world considers them "Greek," in its ethnic rather than it's national sense. It is an error).
KULICH: It is symbolic of Christ Himself, who is our True Bread. Usually it is baked as a round loaf baked with a golden crust decorated with some symbol indicative of Christ, such as a braided cross, a lamb or something like that. Sometimes a cross of dough is placed on tope, and the entire loaf rimmed with a braided plait of dough giving it a crowned effect. Sometimes the abbreviations (in Greek or in Cyrillic - XB does NOT equal "ex bee" but "cha vuh," the initials for "Christos Voskres!" - "Christ is Risen!"
PASKA CHEESE: (Slavic "Hrutka" or "Sirets") A custard-type cheese shaped into a ball which has a rather bland but sweet taste, and is intended to be indicative of the moderation that Christians should have in all things. Also, creamed cheese is sometimes placed in a small dish and decorated with initials or patterns by placing peppercorns or cloves in appropriate patterns.
HAM: (Slavic "Shoon'-ka") The flesh meat popular among Slavs as the main dish for several reasons: a) the richness of its meat which is symbolic of the great joy and abundance of Pascha and b) of the richness of the joy in Christ we ought to have, and c) our freedom from the Old Law, now that all things have been "made clean in Christ" (as indicated to Peter in the dream on the rooftop at Joppa). Being freed from the Old Law and from the death which is the wage of sin, all things are now permissible to eat - and ham, the most forbidden of all the old "unclean" foods is now symbolic of our TOTAL redemption. Many will include meats like roasted lamb, roast beef and other foods prepared well ahead of time - foods which can be enjoyed without a lot of last-minute preparation. Those who have been preparing all week are already exhausted, and looking forward to sitting down and doing nothing for a few hours.
BUTTER: (Slavic "Mas'-lo") Usually the butter is shaped into a figure of a Lamb or of a three-barred cross and decorated in much the same fashion as the cheese. Butter is to remind us of the goodness of Christ that we ought to be demonstrating to all men by our lives in Him.
KIELBASA: (Slavic "Kohl-ba'-ssi") A spicy, garlicky sausage of pork, veal, beef and other products. Indicative of God's favor and generosity.
BACON: (Slavic "Sla-ni'-na") A piece of uncooked bacon cured with spices. Symbolic of the lavishness, the overabundance of God's mercy toward us.
SALT: (Slavic "Sol'") A condiment necessary for flavor reminding Christians of our duties toward others to "flavor" the world.
EGGS: (Slavic "py-san'-ky") Ukrainians use highly decorated eggs with symbols and markings made with beeswax. Extremely complicated and intricate designs, some of which have taken me a full week to make in the completion of a single egg. The word "pysanky" derives from the verb "pysat'" - "to write." Hence, "an egg which has been written/drawn upon." Indicative of new life and of resurrection. There are some fascinating pious legends concerning the origin of these pysanky. Russians use a blood red/scarlet egg indicative of Christ's shed blood and as a symbol of new life.
HORSERADISH: (Slavic "Hrin") Horseradish mixed with grated red beets. Symbolic of the Passion of Christ which is still in our minds, but which is sweetened with some sugar because of the Resurrection. A bitter-sweet red-colored mixture which reminds us of the Blood and suffering of Christ, at which great price was purchased the astonishing gift of our Redemption.
WINE: In some places it is also customary to include a bottle of wine. Poorer areas of Eastern Europe tended to ignore this element of the basket (i.e., Southern Poland, Northern Czechoslovakia, Northeastern Hungary), but American descendants are beginning to include them once again.
The articles are placed in a WICKER basket, and a ribbon or bow is tied to the handle. A DECORATED CANDLE (usually available from the parish at little charge) is placed in the basket and it at the time of blessing. A LINEN COVER, normally quite intricately embroidered with various Resurection 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 when it is brought to the church.
Following the Resurrection Matins and the Divine Liturgy of the Resurrection, the baskets will be taken outside onto the lawn, where they will be placed into a large circle, in the middle of which will stand the priest, the altar boys with the processional cross, censer and incense, and the holy water, along with the cantor of the parish. It will usually be about 1:30 or 2:00 a.m. by this time. As soon as everyone has their basket prepared, their candles lit and quieted down, the priest will begin the opening chant: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," the cantor will reply, and the foods are blessed, in three different groups with three different blessings. First will be blessed the bread products, then the dairy products, then the meat products.
It is customary to break one's Great Lenten Fast with foods blessed at this time and only then proceeding to the foods now ready on groaning tables, foods which have been in process of preparation for the past three days.