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Resurrection Procession (Rezurekcja)* Easter Breakfast (Swiecone)
Sharing of the Egg (Dzielenie sie Jajkiem)

Rezurekcja * Resurrection Procession

    The Rezurekcja is the joyous Easter morning Mass at daybreak when church bells ring out and explosions resound to commemorate  Christ rising from the dead. Before the Mass begins at dawn, a festive procession with the Blessed Sacrament carried beneath a canopy encircles the church. As church bells ring out, handbells are vigorously shaken by altar boys, the air is filled with incense and the faithful raise their voices heavenward in a triumphant rendering of age-old Easter hymns. After the Blessed Sacrament is carried throughout the streets around the church and Adoration is complete, the Easter Mass begins.

* Hear the Bells at Jasna Gora, Poland's central Shrine
* Watch the Rezurekcja Procession at St. Helen's (Video)
* See Stills from the Rezurekcja Procession at St. Helen's
* Dla Dzieci / For Kids: Procession to Print & Color
* Listen / Sheet Music (Pol/Eng): Wesoly nam dzien
* Another version of Wesoly nam dzien
* Listen to Otrzyjcie Juz Lzy Placzacy (Stop Weeping & Rejoice)
* Risen Lord tableau on altar

* Holy Card Image of the Resurrection Banner
* Eucharistic Adoration & Prayers in Polish/English/Latin
* The Story of the Polish-American Sisters of the Resurrection
* Listen to K. Penderecki's Benedictus (1992)

 Benedictum Dominum regem sanctum
 glorie clamat omnis turba Dei excelsis.
 (To the Blessed Father; to the Holy King of Glory,
 Call the whole host of the Father on High.)
                                    -Medieval Sanctus trope
Swiecone * Easter Breakfast
    After Easter Mass, the faithful hurry home to feast on the delicacies denied during Lent. Cold dishes predominate like ham, kielbasa, roast meats, pasztat (pate), hard-boiled eggs in various sauces, salads, beet and horseradish relish (cwikla), followed by such holiday cakes as babka, mazurek and sernik. In some families the breakfast starts with a tart, whitish soup containing eggs and kielbasa, known as bialy barszcz in eastern Poland and zurek elsewhere.

* See the Swiecone Meal & Polish-American Swiecone Buffet
* View the Blessing of the Easter Meal (Video)
* Recipe for Beet Relish/Salad (Buraczki)
* Recipe for Chrzan (Horseradish relish)
* More about Polish Easter Foods


Dzielenie Sie Jajkiem * Sharing of the Egg
    Before Easter breakfast begins, members of the family consume wedges of the blessed Easter eggs and exchange best wishes in much the same way as oplatek is shared on Christmas Eve.

* View the Dzielenie Sie Jajkiem (Video)
* See a Still from the Sharing of the Egg