Holy Week is drawing to a close. I’m in two minds about it. It’s a shame to see my favourite week of the year speed by. On the other hand, the crescendo of the Resurrection is so compelling, so exhilarating.
I was worried that this week would be full of stumbling blocks for our family, we had scheduled every possible thing to co-incide. But we were wise and allowed things to fall away. We slowed our pace and worked together to complete tasks, and enjoyed the journey through the days. Yesterday was spent preparing the krashanky while James and Joséphine napped.
William and Sophie begin peeling onions
Louis joins in...
... and Carrie
Happily working together.
There’s still time to make your own. Here’s how::
Collect the peels of about 10 lb. of yellow onions into a bowl.
Beautiful.
Place them in a pot. Ours has a handy basket insert, but you don't need to have one of those.
Children (and grown-ups) love the crunch of the dry skins...
...and helping in the kitchen.
Add 8 c. water to the pot
and 1/4c. white vinegar
Bring to the boil, cover, and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes.
You'll need 12-18 clean, white eggs which have been left to come up to room temperature.
Place them into a stainless steel pot in a single layer.
Strain and cool your dye to room temperature. Then pour it in over your eggs.
Make sure your eggs are completely covered. Add more cool water, if needed. Bring to the boil again and allow to simmer 12-15 minutes.
If you haven't achieved the colour you want after 15 minutes, remove from the heat and allow to sit until you're happy with them.
When the eggs are completely cooled, rub them with olive oil and a soft cloth or paper towels.
Pack them up nice and safe in their carton to bring to church on Holy Saturday so that they can be blessed.
We’ll be bringing our krashanky to our new parish tomorrow morning for blessing, along with Father David’s holy water bottles for Vigil. They’ll be eaten for breakfast before heading out to the 11:30 Easter Sunday Mass, where Brian will serve. Later in the afternoon, we will return once more to church – this time to our old parish, St. Joseph’s, where William will serve on the altar for the first time!
And somewhere in there, we’ll make time to sit down to dinner together, and reflect on the myriad graces that come to us through Christ, and His Church. The graces we celebrate this Holy Weekend and throughout the year.
Wishing you and your family a blessed Eastertide!
