If I asked you what you thought was the most fondly remembered, most frequently talked about and most looked-forward to dinner tradition in our home, you probably would never guess it.
No, not the wonderful feasting at Easter; not Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner; not even a favorite birthday meal.
It's the one meal we eat on Good Friday.
I kid you not.
For the past two years, on Good Friday, we have had for our evening meal our own family's version of Alice's Lenten Tea II. (Yes. That Alice.)
So when I mentioned to my family that this coming Sunday we would be having a special dinner in honor of the Cross of Jesus, I should not have been surprised when Junie B. piped up, "Can we have the same dinner we have for Good Friday? That is so much fun! And we could put out the Crown of Thorns for a Centerpiece!"
I have to admit, at first I wasn't so sure that a meal and centerpiece intended to recall the horrifyingly sad events of Holy Week should be an appropriate choice for a day designated by the Church as a Feast.
Yet ... isn't that really exactly what we're celebrating here? I'm thinking Junie B. knows more about this than perhaps I give her credit! It also occurs to me that this Feast Day is, give or take, just about 6 months away from Easter. It seems right, somehow, to experience -- on purpose! -- the happy side of Good Friday at this point in the year!
And the dinner is beautifully solemn -- long on variety while also being appropriately reserved of food for a Good Friday meal -- and is remarkably easy to pull off. I'm with Junie. It's really special ... and adding this tradition to our family's experience of the Liturgical Year has been a sort of triumph all its own.
So, with a few adjustments -- including the addition of Fetuccini with Pesto, an Onion-Basil Foccacia with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Slices, and a Crown Cake for dessert -- and no mention at all of fasting, thank you very much! -- allow me to present a few scenes from the newest addition to our family's Liturgical Year Traditions: Not Just for Good Friday Dinner ... Extra Joy, Hold the Sorrow!
Note: Please be sure to go to Cottage Blessings to see how her beautiful tea is laid out, with all the themes and scriptural references. It's really beautiful (does Alice ever do anything that isn't?!), and I am so grateful to her for coming up with so special a tradition that in turn means so much to our family!
Entering in for dinner: A Simple Procession using the Crucifix we received as a wedding gift, singing Lift High the Cross.
The King's Crown (a crown of shrimp cocktail and homemade tortilla chips is always the centerpiece of our Good Friday dinner)
Out of Envy (we use green beans with ranch dip)
The Purple Cloak (This bowl is filled with vinegar and water; the children squeeze in drops of blue and red food coloring to make purple, then place in the hard-boiled eggs, which are then set aside for the Golgotha reading--see below)
The Crown of Thorns (Ritz crackers with peanut butter; the "thorns" are chocolate jimmies)
Golgotha Eggs (The hardboiled eggs are prepared by drawing a "skull and crossbones" (to
commemorate "The Place of the Skull") in hot glue, so that when they come out of the purple dye there is a "ghastly" surprise!)
The Seamless Garment (We used a Gingerbread Girl cutter to make the garment out of soft tortillas, trimming the arms and head. In the past, we've used a large heart cutter, turned upside down. The "cast lots" are cheese cubes)
Two Robbers (Here is where Basil is mentioned -- in the past, we've sprinkled dried basil into the vinegar for the next activity; today everyone dipped in a small slice of foccacia from a tiny 4" loaf, which was pulled off from the main loaf before it was baked)
Vinegar to drink (we dipped a piece of the basil foccacia into a glaze made by boiling together aged balsamic vinegar and honey)
The Roman Centurian (usually everyone counts out 2o grapes, which are then pooled together to make 100, but tonight we only talked about that and everyone ate just a few grapes)
Laid in the Tomb (these are hollowed-out Grands biscuits, which had been quartered and baked in mini muffin tins). We paused here to turn out the lights except for a single candle burning in the middle of the Crown of Thorns centerpiece, and sang Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.
... and then the Feast! This is where we broke out the Fettuccine with Pesto and the Foccacia, Singing Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia! (the midi tune linked here is not the one we sing. Betcha know the one we did, though!)
(I was really pleased with how this bread came out. If I can remember exactly what I did (!) I'll post the recipe.)
Exchanging the Crown of Thorns for a Crown Cake (... to the tune of The Old Rugged Cross)
Be sure to visit Catholic Cuisine to see many more great ideas for celebrating this feast in your family!
The next From Thy Bounty Fair will focus on Angels: Our Guardians and Defenders. Please join in!
Ohhhhh! It is all *absolutely* perfect!!! I LOVE it!! What a special tradition for your family!
My kids and I especially were amazed at your crown cake. What a great idea to make the cookies for the crown cake from a few stars baked together. It turned out wonderful!
And I hope you can remember the foccacia recipe. I have never tried making one before (that I can recall) and it looks super yummy!
Posted by: Jessica | September 14, 2008 at 11:32 PM
What a wonderful feast - WOW! It was a great idea to utilize Alice's Lenten Tea for this feast as well. And your focaccia looks beautiful - I'll bet it tasted as good as it looked.
Posted by: MaryM | September 15, 2008 at 04:08 AM
Wow! Beautiful!
Posted by: Karen Edmisten | September 15, 2008 at 08:17 AM
. . .'til my trophies at last I lie down?? That one?? Looks great Eileen. I'm going to invite you to my house for our next feast. I can't pull these things off!!
Love,
Unca Treece
Posted by: Tree-ah | September 15, 2008 at 09:15 PM
OH, wow, Eileen! Fabulous ideas here! You've outdone yourself. &:o)
Posted by: Lisa | September 16, 2008 at 04:38 AM
You did such a GREAT job! I can't believe how many wonderful ideas you came up with for every part of the meal. The two robbers, purple cloak, golgatha eggs....so many great ways to teach our faith. I am going to steal your ideas for our Good Friday dinner next year! Thanks for sharing and for being a part of the fair!
Posted by: michele | September 16, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Thanks, Michele! Of course, the credit for all the good ideas goes entirely to Alice Gunther at Cottage Blessings. She has lots of other great scriptural tea ideas, and awesome crafts, too! Definitely at the top of my bookmark list!
Posted by: Eileen | September 16, 2008 at 01:29 PM
Oh, and Teresita -- you are such a goof! :) Now I lie me down to sleep, too. (I am so LOL!!)
Posted by: Eileen | September 16, 2008 at 01:32 PM
What a beautiful blog. I came to read about the Triumph of the Cross and just kept on reading. I got to a post where you had your Pzfalzgraf(sp?) dishes in the picture. I have the same set. Love 'em and love your blog!
Blessings~
+JMJ+
Posted by: Marci | September 17, 2008 at 06:54 PM
Absolutely stunning!
Posted by: trina | September 19, 2008 at 12:37 AM
Wow, Eileen! Incredible. I love the crown of thorns centerpiece. Thank you so much for sharing this post.
Posted by: Donna | September 19, 2008 at 05:14 AM