Thursday, April 3, 2014

Looking ahead....

What do you cook for Easter dinner?  We live 11 hours away from our families, so we're usually home and celebrating with just us.  Sometimes we like to bake a ham and all the fixings.  Other times, we'll do a roast or baked chicken.  Just depends.  What about you?

6 comments:

  1. We do leg of lamb, mashed potatoes and a vegetable. We have deviled eggs for an appetizer (we dye the eggs on Holy Thursday, have an Easter Egg hunt on Holy Saturday, and then Saturday night I make them into deviled eggs). For dessert I will make grasshopper pie,which is my husband's favorite. My mother will come, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (plus her boyfriend) may or may not join us. Like most of our holiday meals, it will be a small gathering. I only have one child and come from a small family, and my husband comes from a big family, but only has two siblings who live locally (neither one is married or has kids). I feel bad for my son that other than Christmas, he doesn't even have cousins to celebrate the holidays with, let alone siblings. But we try to be as positive as possible and make it as fun as possible, and he is always very excited for every holiday. I still feel guilty, though.

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  2. I seem to cook a turkey breast most years. We don't actually have any food traditions for Easter, I don't think. I have gotten in the habit of setting up a family of chocolate rabbits for dessert, though! It's a small celebration for us as well, with no extended family members within 200 miles.

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  3. claire: The love you share & special memories you create with your son in celebrating the Feast Days of the Church are things he will treasure!

    Our Easter dinner consists of the foods traditionally included in our Pascha basket that is blessed by our priest after Easter Liturgy, each having symbolic significance. A sweet bread leavened with yeast is a symbol of the New Covenant (the Jews made unleavened bread & we, children of the New Covenant, make leavened bread). I'll either make Kulich (traditional Russian bread with a rounded top resembling the onion domes of Eastern Catholic Churches) or Tsourekia (traditional Greek braided bread, the braid symbolizing of the Trinity). Horseradish (or another bitter herb) serves as a reminder of the 1st Passover & of the bitter sufferings which Christ endured for our sake. The herb is colored red with beets, symbolizing the Blood of Christ. Wine, cheese, & butter (often molded in the form of a lamb) are figurative of all the good things of life & remind us of the earthly gifts that come from God. Meat (usually sausage, kielbasa or ham) is included in remembrance of the sacrifice of the OT Passover, which has been replaced by Christ, the New Passover & Lamb of God.
    Salt serves as a reminder to us that we are "the salt of the earth." A red dyed egg is likened to the tomb from which Christ arose. Of course, no basket would be complete without a bit of chocolate in there. :)

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  4. I just want to thank you all for your prayers. We buried Allie this morning. Our children's choir from school sang and served the Mass. It was a true celebration of her life. And every single prayer was felt.

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  5. I'm glad that there was joy and hope in the midst of this horrible tragedy. Continued prayers for healing for her family and your community. My heart goes out to all of you.

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  6. Adding our continued prayers the the family & friends of Allie.

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