Greco Family "Cooks" Book - Easter Season/Lent

Easter Season/Lent

Easter was important. The Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday (40 days before Easter). Ash Wednesday was the day you went to church to get ashes placed on your forehead by the priest. It signified the beginning of this sacrificial season. I felt so proud to go all day in school with that mark (the ashes) on my head. Lent is a season of fast and sacrifice. It is our belief that just as Christ died for us on the cross, we could surely spend this season reflecting on that sad time (the days before he was put to his death) and sacrifice for Him. So, during Lent, we were expected to sacrifice something. When we were younger, it was usually candy, or gum or sweets. As we got older, it was more customary to do something “extra” during Lent. For years, I went to mass every morning before school during the days of Lent. (The best part was buying two Hostess chocolate cupcakes at Cumbo’s grocery store after mass, and eating them on the way to school.) There were no celebrations during this season. No one could get married during Lent, and there were no big parties in the Church basement. It was a time of mourning. The week before Easter (starting with Palm Sunday) is referred to as Holy Week.

Palm Sunday

My brothers and I went to public school and attended religious instructions. Even so, we usually had the whole week before Easter as vacation from school. The Sunday before Easter was Palm Sunday, when palms were blessed and handed out (sparingly) to each parishioner at church. (Palms are given to symbolize the event when the people of Jerusalem greeted Jesus with palms.) It was always a topic of conversation about how generous or stingy the ushers were with the palms. We all knew how to make crosses out of the palms and would display at least one cross somewhere in our homes for a year until it was replaced with a new one the following year. Some of us could make pretty fancy crosses. It was also customary to exchange a “cross” or palm with another person (as a sign of peace), or to give a palm or cross to someone who could not make it to church. We usually gathered at Grandma Greco’s house after mass and made crosses for hours, trying to outdo one another. Some time during the next week, we made Easter breads to eat and give away. And, we dyed Easter eggs with our families and displayed them in a bowl until we could exchange eggs with our friends and family on Easter Sunday. This special week was always filled with great anticipation.

Holy Thursday

My girlfriends and I spent the afternoon going from church to church saying a prayer at each one and observing the decorated altars. We had to genuflect on two knees because the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. People were invited to bring flowers to church, so the altars were filled with them, especially lilies, (to be taken away and returned to the altar on Sunday). We went to mass at night on Holy Thursday. It was a very long mass.

Good Friday

Good Friday was the most solemn of days. Everyone I knew went to Stations of the Cross every Friday afternoon or evening during Lent. I often knew the altar boys who had to carry the cross and the candles to each of 14 stations around the church. We would try to make them laugh when they passed by our pew. No one ate meat on Fridays during Lent. It was a day to eat tuna, macaroni with butter, peanut butter and jelly, peppers and eggs, or pasta and beans—no meat at all. I remember forgetting to fast at lunchtime and then going to confession, thinking I had committed a very serious offense. On Good Friday, we would agonize all morning about the thought that we had to keep silent between noon and 3 o’clock p.m. (the time Jesus spent dying on the cross). No TV, no talking, no playing, nothing. It was the hardest three hours. It was our sacrifice. I still try not to talk from noon to 3 o’clock on Good Friday. (It’s easier when you’re older.) Church, at that time, was quiet and dark; it smelled of incense, and was generally more mysterious than it is today. The mass was said in Latin. I remember having very profound feelings in church. I used to look at the statues for a long time, and was convinced the eyes actually moved.

Holy Saturday

This was the day we could bring water from home and get it blessed to keep in our homes. At noon on Saturday, Lent was officially over. I’m told people really partied on Saturday night because, theoretically, they hadn’t partied for the past 40 days!

Easter Sunday

     During the entire Lenten season, all the statues in the church were covered with purple garments, not to be revealed until Easter morning, representing the new day, the risen Lord, the new beginning—a time to start fresh and new. I loved Easter. I sang in the children’s choir at 9:00 mass. It was so special sitting in the choir loft and observing the people below. I always had a new outfit on Easter, including a new hat and patent leather shoes. The lines were long for Communion and the colors in the church were bright and beautiful. Some people who only go to church once a year, go on Easter, because it is such a renewal, and it is called your “Easter duty” to go to confession and communion at least once a year. I used to be angry with the people who crowded the church once a year, but have grown to love that at least once a year, people are welcomed for whatever they want to receive from it. I like it best when the priest giving the homily acknowledges the people for coming, not scolding them for only coming once.
     On Easter morning, my brothers and I woke up to a basket of goodies like chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs, which were left for each of us by the Easter Bunny. Toasted Easter Bread with milk was a favorite morning treat. After mass, the morning was spent visiting family and friends, and exchanging decorated hard-boiled eggs. Dinner was served about 1:00 p.m.

     Our Easter Sunday meal typically consisted of:
Appetizer
Celery dipped in olive oil, salt and pepper
Tray of black and green olives/roasted peppers
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Holiday Soup
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Macaroni (Ravioli, Gnocchi, Lasagna, or Penne, etc.)
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Roast Leg of Lamb or
Roast Chicken
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Roasted Potatoes
Salad with olives, celery, carrots, etc.
Oil and wine vinegar dressing

Easter Desserts such as:

Ricotta (pronounced rdi-gaut´) Pie
Calginetti– (pronounced cowl-gin-eat´) stuffed deep-fried fritters
Zuppa Inglese (pronounced zoup-in-glaze-a) (Rum custard cake)
Taralle (pronounced tod´-dahl) stuffed baked horseshoe cookies
Ceci Chiata (pronounced chick-a-la-chod) honey balls
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Red Wine