Every Holy Saturday my mom and I spend our morning preparing our Easter baskets for the Easter basket blessing known as swieconka (shvee-TSON-ka). A tradition that is exclusively Polish, this blessing celebrates the Resurrection of Christ and the ending of Lent. In lieu of the Easter bunny, the Lamb, the symbol of Christ, takes the spotlight usually in butter form known in Polish as “baranek” (ba-RON-ihk, lightly roll the “r”). And of course we have to get our ingredients from the Broadway Market (see neighboring article).
 Into our main basket goes: a baranek, fresh and smoked kielbasa, ham, eggs, horseradish, mustard, ketchup, bread, salt and pepper, and wine (this year there is an added "Elephant's Ear" and Pączki or a Polish donut). |  Into the goodies basket (which is typically loaded) goes: chocolate covered fruits (strawberries, pineapple) and nuts (peanuts, cashews, and walnuts), our chocolate Easter bunnies from Kelly’s Country Store and sponge candy. Need I say that our family likes chocolate? |
It’s a nice, simple tradition that my mom and I have come to cherish through the years. The blessing is only 15 minutes long at your nearest Catholic church, though you might need to touch base with the priest as not all churches offer this blessing.
 (Left) Nancy Korkuc and Maribeth Mroziak present their newly blessed baskets. |  Dylan and Ella Zaremski share their Easter traditions with visiting cousins Madison and Abigail Depp of Ohio. |
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