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But wait: how come this typically Polish custom of blessing food for Easter was born before Poland even adopted Christianity? Well, as with many “typically Polish” traditions, it didn’t originate in Poland as much as it survived in Poland while it was forgotten pretty much elsewhere. In the past, the blessing of food was a thing throughout Christian Europe. It started in the 8th century, quite logically, with the blessing of a roasted lamb. In the 10th century people started to bless other holiday foods as well: ham, cheese, bread, butter, milk and honey. As time passed, the range of blessed foodstuffs expanded: eggs were added in the 11th century; in the 13th, it was fish; in the 16th, salt, horseradish, herbs, oil, poultry, wine and beer; and in the 18th century, fruits.<ref>M. Pisarzak (1976), p. 230</ref>
The blessing ceremony provided a perfect opportunity to show off the abundance of one’s larder. No wonder it’s got so popular in Poland, where the saying “pawn all, but give a ball”<ref>In Polish: ''zastaw się, a postaw się''. I found the brilliant English rendering of this proverb from Carolyn French and Nina Karsov’s translation of the novel ''Trans-Atlantyk'' by Witold Gombrowicz.</ref> applied to everyone, from the richest magnates to landless peasants. Back then the food wasn’t tucked away under a doily at the bottom of a basket, but spread out on tables for all to see. As late as the 19th century , priests were expected to travel door to door and to bless in each house everything its inhabitants were going to have for Easter breakfast.{{clear}}
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