L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 4 Fire brings in the new: Oratino and the tradition of fire rites in Italy S ince the beginning of times , f ire meant everything to Man: light, warmth, safety. It cooked food, it cleansed the soil and often was used as a weapon. Contrarily to the other essential elements of nature, which were all under Man's eye, Fire had to be "dis- covered" and tamed, and also for this it gained profound symbolic meanings. This is why fire is a protagonist in plenty of rituals and traditions , common to almost all countries in Europe: from bonfires to processions, fire becomes a means associated to spiritual awakening - in Chris- tianity, it is symbol of the pres- ence of the H oly S pirit, for instance - but also a moment of passage from an era to another and, indeed, from an year to another. Tradition ally, fire cleanses the earth from the evil and the negativity of a specific time, preparing the way for a new era to begin: no wonder, then, that fire rituals, in many forms, became typical of end of the year celebrations in Italy. In Bologna and other areas of Emilia Romagna, for instance, the Falò del Vecchione, when a puppet resembling an old man is set of fire, lights up the night between the 31st of December and the 1st of January. The Vec- chione is a symbol of the old year, which burns with all its burden of pain and sorrow, to welcome a more bountiful new year. Indeed, this is a tradition con- nected with that of Falò di Inizio Anno, tipical of the Italian North-East and that takes place usually before the Epifania: probably related to pre-Christian rituals of purification and pros- perity, it is symbol, just like the Vecchione, of the end of specific time, the fire cleansing life from all its negativities to begin the new year on a clean slate. But the presence of fire in these dark December and Janu- ary nights of Italy does not sole- ly belongs to the lands of the Italian North East. As Winter approaches and the nights draw in, the men of Orati- no are busy at work. They're col- lecting wood for Christmas. But this isn't firewood for the house; that's already stacked and stored. The wood they seek is rare and hard to find, but vital for the town's festive centerpiece. It will form a 13-meter high tower. And then all their hard work will go up in flames on Christmas Eve. This is la Faglia di Oratino, a Christmas tradition of light, fer- tility, worship and renewal. The origins of the age-old faglia or torch of Oratino are lost in the mists of time, just like the history of the town itself. Tradi- tion suggests that the first settle- ment was founded in pre-Roman times with inhabitants establish- ing a fortress then monastery Fire is the protagonist of many end of year traditional rituals like that of the Falò del Vecchione in Bologna ELIZABETH SALTHOUSE NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS As Winter approaches and the nights draw in, the men of Oratino are busy at work on the traditional Faglia Continued to page 6

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