L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano I n Italy, Easter comes a close second in the list of most loved cele- brations after, need- less to say, Natale. Both rooted in religious tra- dition, they are the apotheo- sis of Italian spirituality, heri- tage and, of course, food. E a s t e r i s a m o v a b l e feast, so it doesn't fall every y e a r o n t h e s a m e d a y a s Christmas does, but we don't really care: long gone are the days when bishops and popes would fight over the correct way to calculate Easter's date, we just want to open up the windows and let the spring come into our sitting rooms. For Catholics, of course, it's primarily a matter of spiri- t u a l i t y , E a s t e r i s t h e d a y when Jesus resurrected, but one doesn't need to be reli- gious to see the beauty in the i d e a i t s e l f . E a s t e r i s t h e beginning of the good season, the moment when Nature awakens —resurrects, even! — from the lazy sleep of the winter months, the time of t h e y e a r w h e r e w e b e g i n looking up at life after the grey and white of the cold season. N o w , I a m g o i n g t o b e honest with you, I am not a fan of spring and my favorite season is, in fact, winter so, while I appreciate Easter for its spiritual, cultural and culi- nary value, I am not that into the whole "finally, spring is h e r e " v i b e . B u t , h e y : i l m o n d o è b e l l o p e r c h é è v a r i o , m y g r a n d m o t h e r would say. I need to make a couple of things clear: Easter is Easter everywhere, of course, but there are some differences. Let's take, for instance, the t w o t e r m s P a s q u a a n d Easter. The Italian comes from the Hebrew Pesach, which means "passage." In Judaism, it was used to indi- cate the passage of Moses through the Red Sea, while for Christians, quite obviou- sly, it signifies the passage of J e s u s f r o m d e a t h t o l i f e . Easter, on the other hand, has an entirely different ety- mology: it comes from the name of an ancient Germanic goddess, Estara, protector of — you guess it! — eggs and rabbits. This explains why the Easter Bunny is so popu- l a r i n A n g l o - S a x o n a n d American culture and not as m u c h a m o n g u s I t a l i a n s . Easter eggs, on the other hand, are very, very common indeed. There are a few things we s h o u l d m e n t i o n a b o u t Easter in Italy. Just like it happens around Christmas, the country buzzes with acti- vity, especially the smallest villages, where old religious traditions are more likely to be kept alive: it's a turmoil of choir rehearsals, flower deco- rations and town center pro- cessions, a bow to a distant past, to memories and faith, even if many people may no longer know where certain t r a d i t i o n s c o m e f r o m . Bakeries' windows, all of a sudden, are full of chocolate eggs, colombe, pastiere, and non-vegetarians head to but- chers to book their lamb for Easter Sunday. Grandmas b a k e c e s t i n i d i P a s q u a (Easter baskets) for their g r a n d c h i l d r e n a n d h a n d them small, sugar coated c h o c o l a t e e g g s i n a l l t h e colors of the rainbow to go with them. The flavors and the colors of Easter in Italy are those of the spring: it's all yellows, whites, light blues and gold. It's the orange blossom and vanilla of pastiera and the candied orange in the colom- ba. If Christmas is deep crim- son and silver, Easter is the feast of pastel shades and sugar. We do play a lot with t h e d i c h o t o m y b e t w e e n C h r i s t m a s a n d E a s t e r , i n Italy. We like to say Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi v u o i , w h i c h m e a n s y o u should spend Christmas with family, but Easter with who- m e v e r y o u p r e f e r : t h a t ' s funny, because I doubt you'd find parents or grandparents w h o a r e o k w i t h y o u n o t having Easter with them to go a n d j o i n s o m e f r i e n d s instead. That is to say, it's all good on the paper, but in rea- lity… don't even think about it. And so, Easter morning comes and how would you begin a day of celebration in Italy, if not with loads of food? In many parts of the country, especially in the cen- ter and the south, it is tradi- tional to have a colazione di Pasqua, or Easter breakfast: it is the only time of the year w h e n a n I t a l i a n a c c e p t s without complaining to have something savory this early in the morning — you know the way we are, we rarely stray from our "cappuccio e brio- che." Romans begin Pasqua with a frittata di carciofi, an artichoke omelette, while Umbrians break the fasts of Lent with local capocollo (a type of cold cut), cheeses and their pizza pasquale, a glo- riously rich bread that is to die for even on its own. Then, some go to mass, others stay home cooking, everyone feels the zest of spring taking over. And let's not forget that tomorrow is P a s q u e t t a : n o w t h i s i s essential to keep in mind if y o u a r e t h e o n e c o o k i n g , b e c a u s e w h a t y o u m a k e today, it's for tomorrow, too. In Liguria and Piemonte is torta pasqualina, in Naples is frittata di pasta and of c o u r s e t h e r e a r e a l m o n d cookies from Sicily and all t h a t c o l o m b a y o u d i d n ' t manage to eat. Pasquetta is the day you eat outdoors and enjoy the sun, the day you meet friends and have a bar- b e c u e , t h e d a y e v e r y o n e brings "some leftovers from Pasqua and let's call it a day." Pasquetta is a fully Italian t r a d i t i o n i n d e e d , o n e w e don't share with any other country in the world, a way we have to lengthen for an extra 24 hours the celebra- tions of Easter. Another day o f c h e e r , g o o d c o m p a n y , good food. To conclude, a question: what's left after Easter in every single Italian home? C h o c o l a t e : p o u n d s a n d pounds of chocolate, espe- cially if you have children around. Easter eggs are deli- cious, but there is only so much chocolate you can eat, s o o u t c o m e s t h e Tupperware, trusted compa- nion to save food and keep leftover fresh, where we'll preserve Easter eggs until we'll have made enough cho- colate cakes and cookies to have it all polished off. By then, we'll be on the cusp of summer, and it'll be time to think about gelato. Celebrating Easter Italian style FRANCESCA BEZZONE Traditional processions are typical everywhere in Italy around Easter (Photo: Massimobuonaiuto/Dreamstime) LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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