Every year on Easter night, people go to church for a service in honor of the Bright Resurrection. According to ancient traditions, at this time the food prepared for the festive meal is consecrated. An integral attribute of the consecration rite is a wicker basket.
Where to get an Easter basket?
In ancient times, a basket for Easter was woven from willow branches or vines and consecrated beforehand. The basket served not only to hold Easter eggs and Easter eggs, but also served as a talisman that protected a person from evil spirits.
Today, a wicker basket can be easily bought anywhere, but it will be much more valuable if you make it yourself. As in ancient times, you can weave a basket from willow or vine branches. They are a fairly strong and flexible material, which makes it possible not only to easily bend them, but also to give them the necessary shape.
Previously, basket weavers would collect twigs in the summer, put them in holy water, where they would be kept until Baptism. Just before the holiday, the twigs would be pulled out, dried, and sorted through, saying a prayer to God. Basket weavers would begin immediately after Baptism; during this process, it was forbidden to quarrel, entertain bad thoughts, or even sing songs.
The basket was woven from the base, since the bottom was the strongest place, and it was made of large branches. Willow twigs were also woven into the base, folded in the shape of a cross. You could find baskets of various types: some were round, others oval, some strong, others openwork, and still others with beautiful patterns.
Nowadays, few people weave baskets for Easter, almost everyone just buys them. On sale now you can find a variety of products: simple and complex, large and small, in the form of chickens, decorated with weaving. The material used is not only traditional vine and willow, but also more modern ones - bamboo, rattan, dried seaweed.
How to choose a durable basket?
First, when choosing a basket, pay attention to its rods. The color should be uniform, darkening, black spots, stains and cracks are a sign of improper storage and processing of the material from which the basket is woven.
Secondly, it is very important to check for roughness and dents, which indicate that the basket is quickly deformed. To do this, simply run your palm along the sides of the product. Any change in shape will mean that the basket is made of poor-quality raw materials.
Third, you need to check the weaving. To do this, place the basket on a surface and pull the handle. If it wobbles, it means that the weaving is bad. The bottom should be woven evenly and uniformly.
Caring for the basket is not difficult. If, suddenly, it gets wet, simply move it to a dry place where the product will be easily ventilated.
Please note! Do not place the basket near heat sources, as the material may dry out and lose its integrity and shape.
What to put in the cart?
A variety of treats are collected in the basket, which will then be on the festive table. These include Easter eggs, Easter cakes, Cahors, cheese, butter, sausage, pork, lard, fish, horseradish, salt, etc.
Easter cakes are traditionally baked on Maundy Thursday or Saturday. The most delicious Easter cakes are baked according to recipes that are passed down from generation to generation, from grandmother to daughter and granddaughter. The Easter dough is kneaded in silence, peace, and with good thoughts, otherwise it may be unsuccessful, and the Easter cake will be tasteless.
If you don't bake your own Easter cakes, you can buy them. It is very important to be able to choose the right quality pastries, because today's confectionery variety is impressive.
First, you should pay attention to the composition of the Easter cake. All products should be close to homemade ones, that is: eggs, butter, sugar, not egg powder, margarine and sweetener. If the baking does not contain natural eggs, the Easter cake will quickly become stale.
If the crumb of the product is yellow, this is a good sign. It indicates that the manufacturers used natural egg yolks in their baking. The outside of a natural Paska should be a uniform brown color.
Secondly, you can find out if the Easter cake is well baked by simply pressing on the bottom. If it is firm, it means that the product is well baked. It is better to take small Easter cakes, because huge ones may not be baked, and you will have no way to check their readiness.
Third, there shouldn't be too many decorations and sprinkles on the pastry. Too many can hide the flaws in the dough.
How to decorate eggs?
There are several options for decorating eggs. These include thermal stickers, natural dyes, artificial egg paint, and others.
Thermal stickers are probably one of the most popular ways to decorate. It's beautiful, convenient, and fast, but there are problems with peeling eggs in such a wrapper.
Natural dyes are useful but unstable. Products such as onion skins, turmeric, beets, cranberries, black tea, nettles, elderberries, and spinach are used for dyeing. You can get brown, yellow, pink, gold, chocolate, or blue shades.
Artificial dyes, although bright, can be dangerous to health. Sometimes, the dyes are so caustic that they can even get through the shell onto the protein and color it.
Interesting to know! It is believed that eggs with brown shells are stronger than those with white shells, so during the traditional "battle", choose brown ones.
What wine should you choose for your Easter basket? Some may ask what alcohol is for, but a good Cahors is very appropriate for a church holiday. Cahors is approved by the Orthodox Church and is an integral part of the sacrament of communion and family feasts.
What to add to the snacks in the basket?
We have chosen the basket, it also has the products, but it is very important to decorate it all with a candle and a towel. The candle symbolizes our inner light, which we give to those around us, the towel, in turn, symbolizes wealth, goodness and hope. It is customary to serve Easter on a consecrated towel.
According to tradition, the towel should be embroidered by the hostess of the house. Only then will it carry warmth and unique energy. When the towel was embroidered, one could not think of anything bad. They started embroidering it on Thursday, and the day before they fasted. But not every hostess knows how to embroider, not every one has time. We offer you some tips on choosing an Easter towel.
First, the fabric from which your future towel will be made must be natural. This includes linen, cotton, or homespun cloth.
Secondly, you should choose a cross stitch as the method of embroidery for the towel, even if it was machine embroidered.
Thirdly, the pattern on the towel should be themed around the holiday. It could be the letters "ХВ" or the full phrase "Христос Воскрес" and an image of an Easter egg with Easter eggs.
It is worth paying attention! The drawing should not be in the center of the towel, it is believed that this is the place of God. In addition, the drawing should not be large, it should occupy no more than a quarter of the canvas.
It has long been believed that the towel should have black and red colors, but modern craftsmen have started adding green and gold. And there is an explanation for this.
Red is the color of death, the afterlife, black is the color of protection, the affirmation of life. That is, the combination of these two colors seems to paint a picture of the crucifixion of Christ.
Yellow and gold, the colors that are now being added to embroidery, are the colors of Divine wisdom. Blue is the color that symbolizes peace of mind and purification. Green is the color of youth, of spring.
The drawing in the Orthodox church must include an Easter egg, a symbol of fertility, and Easter eggs, a symbol of eternal life. Chickens and rabbits, which are also depicted on towels, are traditional for Catholics.
So you've gathered everything into a basket, placed a candle in it (you'll light it when the Easter eggs are blessed), covered everything with a towel. Your Easter basket is ready!
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