Easter Holiday in Italy

Buona Pasqua - The History and Tradition Of Easter In Italy

When does the Easter celebration begin? The Nicean Council decided in A.D. 325 that Easter would be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon to rise after the Spring Equinox. Unless the first full moon also rose on a Sunday, in which case Easter would be celebrated the Sunday after that. For over 1500 years we have continued to mark the celebration of Easter based on these calculations.

Pancakes are a traditional Shrove Tuesday feast food. Older church doctrine decreed that Catholics give up more than meat dishes for Lent - eggs, milk, and even fats were also restricted for the observant. Because Shrove Tuesday is the last day until Easter that people could spoil themselves (and in order to use up the dairy products and fats in the home so they wouldn't go to waste) pancakes soon became a traditional Shrove Tuesday feast.

Lent (Quaresima) marks the forty days of fast and abstinence before Easter. Lent is marked with the Feast of St. Joseph (Festa di San Giuseppe) on March 19th and Palm Sunday (Domencia della Palme), in which palms and olive branches are blessed by the parish priest and given out to the congregants. Many churches still follow the tradition of having the priest knock three time from the outside of the closed church doors to symbolize Jesus' entry in to Jerusalem.

Holy Friday (Venerdi' Santo) is often marked in the churches with a ritual washing of the feet, with the priest symbolizing the role of Jesus, and 12 church members symbolizing the role of the disciples

Easter Sunday begins with a bang in Florence - quite literally! The three hundred year old traditional "explosion of the carte (Scoppio del Carro) has its roots in the pagan ritual of ensuring a good harvest" and is now considered a bringer of good luck for the city of Florence.

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Traditional Easter meals vary from region to region, but eggs and roasted lamb are common elements everywhere. Eggs represent life, fertility, and renewal, all of which are essential symbols of Easter. Dyed eggs grace many Easter tables, and eggs are often found in soups and in a traditional Easter pie (Torta Pasqualina). Roasted lamb, as a symbol of birth and the Shepard, is a traditional main course. Chocolate bunnies are not common, but beautifully decorated chocolate eggs are a traditional Easter treat and gift! The official Easter cake is the Eastern Dove (Colomba) that represents peace

Easter Monday, also known as Little Easter (Pasquetta) is also an official Italian holiday that is often spent enjoying the fresh Spring weather with family and friends in picnics. The Racing Of The Egg (Palio dell'Uovo) is a traditional Easter Monday game in the town of Tredozio. And in Barano d'Ischia, a traditional dance called the Festa della Ndrezzata takes place on the same day.

By Faith Harper