The Liturgical Home: Holy Cross Day
On Holy Cross Day, Christians around the world celebrate the cross of Christ. The cross is pivotal to the Christian faith. It is the instrument of Christ’s redemption for the whole world, “having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). It is such a holy object to us and the saving acts of God through the cross of Christ are reason to celebrate!
The Rediscovery of the Cross
Holy Cross Day is an ancient feast day that celebrates the cross and all that it means for our lives. On this day, we discover not only the cross itself but also its rediscovery after it disappeared in the fall of Jerusalem.
Sponsored
The earliest Christians considered Jesus’ tomb a holy site. However, the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 reduced the city to ruins. Later, in AD 130, Emperor Hadrian built a Roman colony over its ruins. He ordered the tomb of Christ filled to create a flat foundation for a temple dedicated to Venus. Hadrian demonstrated the truth of Paul’s words: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
In the 4th century, Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helena Augusta, converted to Christianity and set about finding and restoring Christianity’s holy sites and objects. Constantine sent his mother to have the pagan temple over the tomb destroyed and the old ruins of the tomb excavated. The excavations uncovered three crosses believed to be the cross of Christ and the two thieves. This caused much celebration, and Helena and her delegation, with the local Christians, declared a feast day to commemorate it.
Ways to Celebrate
- Make a dessert in the shape of the cross. I am sharing a super easy dessert to make with your kids. Your kids will have so much fun making it! Also, whipped cream and crisp dark chocolate wafers…what’s not to love about that?
- Make a cross out of toothpicks. This is a fun and easy activity for your kids. Break up toothpicks and glue them in the shape of a cross on black construction paper. Punch holes in the corners of the paper, thread twine through and hang or process through your house.
- Make something with basil. Tradition says that basil was growing all over the hill where St. Helena found the cross of Christ buried. Because of this, in Greece, priests hand out sprigs of basil to the parishioners. Have your children gather up bundles of basil and tie with a ribbon. Place the basil bundles on the table as decorations for your feast. For dinner, make homemade pesto and add to hot pasta.
- Show your children how to make the sign of the cross over themselves. People often believe that making the sign of the cross over ourselves is superstitious or weird but that was never how it was intended to be used. Making the sign of the cross is just a way that we remind ourselves that we are set apart for Christ.
Recipe: Holy Cross Icebox Cake
A Holy Cross Day Whipped Cream and Chocolate Dessert
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookies
- 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 cup (1 1⁄2 ounces) Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄4 teaspoon table salt
- 1 1⁄4 cups (5 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Whipped Cream
- Whipped Cream
- 1 quart heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
To prepare the cookies.
Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. In a second medium bowl, combine sugar, water, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add butter to the sugar mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and stir with a spatula until fully combined.
Transfer dough to the counter and knead until smooth, about 20 seconds. Roll into a 5-inch log. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a sharp chef’s knife, slice the log into ⅛-inch-thick rounds and transfer to prepared sheets (20 cookies per sheet), leaving ½ inch between rounds. Bake until the center of the cookies gives very little when pressed with your fingertip, 20 to 22 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Serve. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.)
To make the whipped cream and assemble the cake
Whip the whipped cream on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Add a layer of whipped cream between layers of chocolate wafers and arrange them on a platter. Stack the wafer layers on their sides in the shape of a cross.
When you are satisfied with the shape, cover the whole cross in the remaining whipped cream. Place the ground wafers in a sifter and sift over the cake. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve.
Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Combine sugar, water, and vanilla in second medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add butter to sugar mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and stir with spatula until fully combined.
Transfer dough to counter and knead until smooth, about 20 seconds. Roll into 5-inch log. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Tumlin Wallace.
The Liturgical Home: Preparing For All Of Easter
With our series on “The Liturgical Home,” we aim to support families in discipleship to Christ through the wisdom of the Anglican tradition. Ashley is a wonderful guide, and today we are thrilled to publish her new guidebook on Easter. It’s a book for all of Easter, for the entire 50 days. Let us keep…
Announcing The Liturgical Home: Lent
With our series on “The Liturgical Home,” we aim to support families in discipleship to Christ through the wisdom of the Anglican tradition. Ashley Tumlin Wallace is a wonderful guide, and Anglican Compass is thrilled to publish her new guidebook on Lent. It’s an incredible resource, helping you walk through Lent’s rich meaning and traditions…
