The blessing of the Easter Basket containing the food for the first meal of Easter has been a beloved Catholic ritual for centuries among families of Eastern European origin. This tradition has since been adopted by people of all ethnic backgrounds, who enjoy its rich symbolism.
On Holy Saturday morning, families prepare their Easter Baskets and fill them with symbolic items. The baskets are later brought to church to be blessed during a short service in the early afternoon. After Easter Sunday’s Resurrection Mass, each family and their guests share their blessed fare and exchange good wishes.
The custom of blessing the Easter foods arose from the strict Lenten fasting of the past, when meat, eggs, fats, and other foods were forbidden during Lent. Easter was thus greeted with great joy as the day when Christ arose and when fasts were ended. The Church’s joy and thanksgiving were expressed in this custom of blessing the foods for the first meal of Easter.