EASTER CUISINE | KAIROS GLOBAL | APRIL 2020

Author: Joby Mundackal and Vinitha Joby

Intro: Joby Mundackal and Vinitha Joby share some meaningful culinary traditions that we can all incorporate into our Holy Week preparation and Easter celebration.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, a time to die: a time to plant and a time to pluck the harvest…” Ecclesiastes 3:1-4. Likewise there is a time for fasting and a time for feasting. The observance of the different seasons and feast days as proclaimed by our Holy Mother Church is essential, and is quite relevant in our families which are the domestic church. 

Food is an essential part of Easter too. In fact, the Easter Triduum starts with the Passover meal. When we look at the public ministry of Jesus, we can see that he gave a lot of importance to food; starting with the wedding at Cana, multiplying the loaves, the last supper, and the supper at Emmaus. Throughout his ministry, meals played a vital role. The Lord continued this by becoming the living bread for us in the Holy Eucharist. We are trying to explore some of the traditions associated with Holy Week as a family.

Palm Sunday

An ideal way to start Holy Week is by having a family meal with a cross on top of the pastry and a Palm Sunday pie. 

Spy Wednesday can be commemorated with activities relating to the traitor Judas; an ideal day to play hide and seek.

Maundy Thursday

Maundy in Latin means command, it stems from Christ’s words, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another”. In many houses, it is a day for the fathers to wash the feet of others in the family. 

Passover Meal

For most of us this might already be a tradition we follow; where we remember the last supper of the Lord along with the first Passover meal of the Israelites. Preparation for this is very important and it is advisable to do this solemnly. 

Roast lamb is an essential part of the Passover meal. Roast lamb can be filled with garlic and other herbal stuffing. One herb used in the roast is Rosemary because for centuries people believed that this plant would not grow over six feet in 33 years, so as not to be taller than Jesus. In Germany, Maundy Thursday is known as Gründonnerstag (literally Green Thursday) one reason being the green vegetables and herbs eaten along with the lamb.

Good Friday

Good Friday starts with toasted hot cross buns for breakfast. Last year, a few Jesus Youth families in the UK came together in a monastery and joined the liturgies and the Stations of the Cross with the community there. This could be a day to have a pilgrim walk as a family and to stay away from all the distractions of the media. 

Planting Seeds

Good Friday is the traditional day for planting seeds. The seed buried underground which breaks through the soil with its shoot, reminds us of our Lord’s death, burial and resurrection. If you don’t have a garden, plant a seed in a small kitchen pot and as time passes, the new shoots will get the children very excited. It is an interesting way to share the word of God about the grain of wheat dying to self.

Good Friday is also a day to make an Easter Garden, which can become the place for Easter activities. Most of us are very familiar with making a Christmas Crib and it is good to have the same enthusiasm regarding the Easter Garden. Stories of Joseph of Arimathea will be an interesting topic to discuss with children at this point. Making a tomb and covering it with a stone is also an important part of this garden. With the growing demand of media entertainment, all these activities help families to spend Good Friday as a day with the Lord. Some people also spend Good Friday as a day for spring cleaning. 

Easter celebrations 

A few years back our Polish neighbours visited us on Easter Sunday with decorated Easter eggs. Yes, Easter is a time of new life and decorating Easter eggs is an interesting activity. This could either be done using empty shells or on boiled eggs which can then be served on Easter Sunday. Easter Saturday is an ideal day to spend time making an Easter basket and decorating it. The basket should be filled with tissue paper for collecting the Easter eggs. Once the eggs are ready, parents could hide them for an Easter egg hunt on Sunday.

Another Easter activity is making an Easter bonnet, which could be worn on Easter morning. Making an Easter paschal candle for Easter morning is also another beautiful tradition that we can pass on to our children. With the various symbols of Alpha, Omega, the current year and the five grains of incense or cloves reminding us of the five wounds of the Lord, this candle can be lit on Easter Sunday and following that, for dinner every night or for special occasions. When lighting this we can say this small prayer: ‘May the light of Christ rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds’.

Attending the Easter vigil is a good way to educate children about numerous aspects of the faith life. We normally wear our best clothes for this special occasion in the Christian Calendar.

On Easter Sunday, children are excited to do the Easter egg hunt. The ideal breakfast for the day is boiled eggs. In some parts of the world people do egg-rolling on their lawns or on hillsides.

Easter lunch

Roast lamb is a traditional dish.  One key element of this meal is the sharing of faith to the next generation. The role of sheep and shepherds from the Bible is a good discussion around the dining table. Often we eat food in a rush and forget the importance of meal time. Let this Easter be a time to sit together as a family in making and having the meal. Remember that it was during the last supper that Jesus gave His great command and instituted the Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders. Through the gospels we encounter Jesus teaching various things to His disciples during meal times. 

Though there is a lot of despair, turmoil and stagnancy this Easter season, let us ask the Lord to continue to help us to be ‘Easter people’, filled with the hope and joy of our risen Lord. Let us stretch ourselves in little ways for our neighbours and friends who are self-isolating by doing the grocery shopping for them or at least making a phone call or text. 

Blessing for Easter food

O Lord, who blessed five loaves in the desert, graciously give us the bread for life’s needs. Almighty God, let not thy gifts lead us to sin. While we enjoy our feast, let us also in charity remember all those who suffer in want and hunger. May not the pleasure of our body stifle the inspirations of thy Holy Spirit, O Lord.

Joby Mundackal and Vinitha Joby live in Manchester, UK with their four children. They are active in Jesus Youth UK.