Holy Thursday Liturgical Tea

A few years ago, inspired by Jessica, we began having a Holy Thursday Liturgical Tea.  It was surprisingly simple to pull off and made a real impression on the children.  I am busy preparing for today's tea and thought I would share some of our plans.

Each year, I set the table with a pretty olive-themed tablecloth and take out some special bowls and plates, just not the fine China.  I save that for Easter.  In addition to the symbolic foods, I include a few symbolic plates, a pewter player, green fish shaped plate the my mother-in-law made me, and my decorative Noah' s Ark plate.   The pewter plate represents the Sedar that Jesus shared with the disciples. The fish represents Christ and green is a traditional color for Holy Thursday.  Noah' s Ark represents the fulfillment of Old Testement prophecies.  

A glimpse at last year's tea.

Below is a list of what we usually have on the table for our tea:

Palms on the road-- In years past, I have made heart of Palm salad, and eaten the whole thing myself. In an effort to economize and simplify, I now just put the palms from Palm Sunday in a pretty vase as a centerpiece.

Costly Oil--I fill a shallow bowl with olive oil and flavor it with Italian seasoning, garlic, and a little onion powder. As a child, this is what we put on bread, never butter, of course that was only if there was no tomato sauce left to sop up.

Unleavened bread blessed and broken-- We are using broken pieces of Matzo crackers, but have also used posts cut into wedges, in the past.

The Blessing Cup--I make a special wine Spitzer that is mostly grape juice and water with a very little bit of red wine. The wine and water represent the blood and water that flowed from Christ's side.

Mount of Olives--A pile of olives. Any kind will do. 

Garden of Gethesmene-- Dried figs

Sleepy Apostles--Sleepytime tea

Thirty Pieces of Silver--I'm once again filling a bowl with thirty dimes that will then be donated to Mary's Meals. We have also used rice crackers, slices of carrots, and slices of string cheese.

Judas' kiss--Strawberries

The Cock Crowed Twice--I marinated some chicken cutlets, cooked them in a pan, and sliced them into strips. In years past, we have used rotisserie chicken, chicken salad, and mini chicken pot pies.

Peter's Tears--Salted sunflower seeds.  (I bought unsalted by mistake, oops!) 

Cloud of Heaven--Garlic mash potatoes, and yes, I use instant potatoes. I simply salute some garlic in oil and mix it in. The key is simplicity.

I will be back to post pictures in Pretty-Happy-Funny-Real.  Enjoy the day!