Directions: |
Directions:1. Hard-boiled eggs
2. Salt - a symbol of God's grace. As salt flavours our food, so does the
grace of God in our lives. If we are to be the salt of the earth, as Jesus tells us to be, we must never be without God's grace.
3. Paska - a round shaped bread decorated with fancy ornaments. The predominant dough ornaments were in the shape of a cross. Paska was symbolic of the true and eternal life offered by Christ. Jesus is the Living Bread and the word paska means Passover. Christ, by his resurrection, has passed over from death to life, freeing us from the bondage of sin. In olden times, paska was given to the animals and poultry to keep them healthy and was mixed with seed grain to ensure a bountiful crop. It was also eaten at festivals to honour the dead.
4. Babka - a delicate, rich, raised yeast bread cake. Babka was a symbol of the Mother of God. Babka is baked as a tall, round loaf and is fine-textured, lightly glazed and decorated to symbolize the joy of Mary at the news of Christ's Resurrection.
5. Ham - Kobassa (ham sausage) - Ukrainian sausage containing choice cuts of lean pork, with veal sometimes also used.
6. Maslo - (butter) decorated with whole cloves arranged in the shape of the cross. Butter represents the burial ointment and the cloves represent the spices and aloes which were used to anoint Christ's body to prepare it for burial.
7. Syrnyk - made mainly from cottage cheese and eggs. Cottage cheese by its whiteness, is a symbol of purity and goodness of a soul without sin. 8. Khrin - fresh horseradish root. Horseradish represents suffering. Its sharp flavour symbolizes the suffering of Christ and our own suffering as long
as we are slaves to sin.
9. Burachky z khronom - pickled beet and horseradish relish. Beets are a symbol of sin. The red stain of the beets symbolized the stain caused by sin, which is washed away by Christ's victory over sin.
10. Krashanky - solid coloured boiled eggs
11. Pysanky - intricately designed Easter eggs, made from raw eggs and never eaten. Pysanky are symbolic of the Resurrection and the promise of a better world and life eternal. These multicolored eggs had symbolic designs to symbolize Christ risen from the tomb, just as an egg has new life coming forth from within itself. The shell represents Christ's grave.
The Easter dinner would include all of the above Blessed Foods, plus a selection of the following :
Holubtsi Vegetables Salads
Studenetz (headcheese) - jellied pork meat Pork Roast
Pechene Porosiatko - roast suckling pig. Meat is symbolic of the joyful celebration . In the Gospel parable, the overjoyed father orders the slaughter of the fatted calf upon the return of his long lost son. Thus meat (traditionally ham and kobassa) is a symbol of joy and celebration. It also reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.
Kyshka (buckwheat sausage)
Parakladanetz - a rich fruit-layered coffee cake
Torte - a fancy layer cake with a variety of filling. It may be decorated with pussy willows and the traditional Easter greeting of Khrystos Voskres. |
This recipe for TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN EASTER BREAKFAST is from