Youtor
Blessing the Easter Baskets Lviv Ukraine
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A religio-cultural highlight of Holy Saturday in Ukraine is the Sviachenia, the blessing of Easter baskets. From the late afternoon to even past dark, the streets in Lviv are full of people carrying a wicker basket of Pascha (Easter) foods to local churches to be blessed. The baskets, covered in a rushnyk, a special woven cloth usually proclaiming “Christ is risen,” are lined up in a rectangle near the church steps, and occasionally inside the church. The baskets typically contain a round loaf of a sweet egg bread known as paska, which is prepared exclusively for Easter; sprigs of green branches; some combination of ham, sausage and/or lamb; pysanky, the famous colored Easter eggs of Ukraine; cheese; and a beet and horseradish relish. • Outside the church, and sometimes inside, basket bearers and family members line up behind the baskets. All are very carefully displayed. A candle is stuck into the paska and lit for the blessing, and when a sufficient number appear, the priest offers prayers over the food, and sprinkles abundant holy water on the baskets and believers. Afterwards, families, many dressed up for the occasion, often take turns posing for photographs with their baskets. The practice is common to Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic churches. The number of people who bring a basket is said to far exceed those who attend services. • Learn more at http://www.catholicsandcultures.org/u... • This video is part of Catholics Cultures, an initiative of the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
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