During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many new immigrants from Europe were coming and settling in America. They tended to settle in groups (much as immigrants do today) because the presence of others from their home country, speaking their home language, helped make the transition easier.
Minnesota has many communities with their history tied to the immigration of a specific ethnic group. Germans in New Ulm, Poles in Northeast Minneapolis, Swedes in Lindstrom, and so on. Ely is no different.
Ely caught the eye of arriving Finns and Slovenians and they became a strong influence on local culture, as evidenced still today by things such as the many saunas and the active chapter of the Slovenian Union of America. One of the traditions that the Slovenes brought to Ely was the pious custom of Easter Zegen. “Zegen” roughly translates to “blessing” and is the practice of bringing a basket of Easter foods to the church to be blessed.
Traditional foods brought to Zegen were breads like kolache and potica, meats, horseradish, hard boiled eggs, and oranges. Today people bring a variety of foods they plan to eat at their Easter dinner to be blessed.
If you would like to participate in Zegen this year, you can bring a basket of food that you plan to serve for Easter to the Zegen service, held at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church on Holy Saturday, April 4 from 1-1:30 p.m.
Set your basket up at the front of the church before the service starts, Father Charlie Friebohle will lead the blessing, and you will get to bring home food that will make your Easter feast extra special. Everyone is welcome, including children, so bring the whole family.
