HAMTRAMCK —Firefighters and scouts stood at attention before the altar of the tomb of Jesus Christ on Holy Saturday, anticipating the celebration of His Resurrection.

Members of the City of Hamtramck Fire Department and the Polish Scouting Organization stood at attention before the side altar where Jesus Christ’s body lay in the tomb, recreating the Gospel scene in which Roman soldiers were ordered to guard the tomb of Jesus following the Crucifixion.

The Hamtramck Fire Department has been “guarding the tomb” for the past 10 years at St. Florian, during the parish’s blessing of the Easter baskets.

“We’re here as representatives of the fire department, but we’re here on our own, doing something we chose to do,” said Hamtramck firefighter John Davis. “The city in no way mandates this; it’s a completely elective activity we want to participate in.”

St. Florian is the patron of firefighters, so 10 years ago the parish's pastor asked the Hamtramck Fire Department to participate in the Polish custom.

“Fr. Miroslaw Frankowski (SChr.) asked us to do this,” Hamtramck Fire Department Cpt. William Dickens said. “It’s a tradition in Poland he wanted to carry over here, so he invited us and we joyfully accepted. It’s a great tradition and honor for the fire department to participate in.”

Cpt. Dickens said most people see the fire department in more unfortunate circumstances, so it’s nice for the public to see them participate in the community for a more joyful reason. Plus, praying for the protection of their patron saint never hurts given their line of work.

“A lot of us come from Catholic backgrounds, and we were raised doing things like this,” Cpt. Dickens said. “A lot of people in the department are Catholic or raised Catholic, and it doesn’t hurt to do things to please the church; to punch our ticket every now and again to have in our back pocket, given the dangers we see in our job.”

The firefighters we joined by members of the Polish Scouting Organization, who also had scouts at Our Lady Queen of Apostles in Hamtramck and Our Lady of Czestochowa in Sterling Heights.

“Tradition has it that guards kept watch over the tomb of Jesus, and in Poland members of the community always stand guard for Holy Saturday,” said Teresa Wiacek, explorer scout instructor for the Polish Scouting Organization. “Even when I was a scout, we were taught the scouts keep watch over the tomb. We have Polish scouts all over the country and world who are doing this.”

Throughout the day St. Florian, parishioners had their Easter baskets blessed for Sunday’s feast; St. Ladislaus Church in Hamtramck and St. Hyacinth Parish in Detroit also had Easter basket blessings during the day.

Wiacek said traditions like the blessing of the Easter baskets serve an important role in passing culture and faith to the next generation.

“Whatever nationality, culture or religion you are, it’s important to teach the young people tradition,” Wiacek said. “If you don’t, then it won’t continue. You see all these children here today, and if someone didn’t teach them about the blessing of the baskets -- or at least drive them to church today -- then the tradition would die off.”