L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T he rituals of Holy Week, marked on the calendar this year from March 2 4 t h t o M a r c h 31st, commence with Palm Sunday and feature special celebrations each day. This year, 83 Sicilian cities will honor these traditions, with many of the events listed in the Registry of Sicily's Intan- gible Heritage. The complexi- t y a n d s y m b o l i s m t h e y express make it necessary to acknowledge their influences from 16th and 17th-century Spanish culture. Moreover, there's a clear connection with a certain type of theatre evident in all religious perfor- m a n c e s , w h i c h a r e o f t e n steeped in symbolism. Let's start with the celebrations for P a l m S u n d a y . R e c a l l i n g Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, p a l m f r o n d s a n d o l i v e branches, symbols of peace, are traditionally carried in procession, often by children. In the past, laurel sprigs or other evergreens were used instead, embodying apotropa- ic and religious magical value. Whether woven palms, olive branches, or laurel sprigs, they are kept throughout the year for their symbolic signifi- cance. The reenactment of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem during Palm Sunday's procession, in Caltanissetta, a city in the Sicilian hinterland, features a Christ effigy crossing the city center on a boat completely covered in flowers, likely symbolizing the return of s p r i n g a n d t h e r e b i r t h o f nature. Just a few kilometers away, in Enna, confraterni- ties parade through the city streets, with some members dressed as Jesus riding a donkey, preceded by twelve b r e t h r e n c a r r y i n g o l i v e branches to represent the Apostles. T h r o u g h o u t t h e w e e k , rites and processions take place, organized and execut- ed by various confraternities in Sicilian cities, each some- times referencing the patron saint of their municipality. In C a l t a n i s s e t t a , o n t h e evening of Holy Tuesday, the t r i a l o f J e s u s a n d o t h e r moments of the Passion are depicted by costumed actors and accompanied by bands, culminating with the Scin- nanza (from the Sicilian scin- niri, meaning to descend), or the deposition of Christ's body. The first representation o f t h e S c i n n a n z a w i t h numerous actors took place in 1840 but was halted the following year due to public o r d e r c o n c e r n s . I t w a s resumed in 1957 thanks to the Salesians, and from 1972 took place annually on Holy Saturday evening until the clergy decided to move it to Holy Tuesday in 2006. Holy W e d n e s d a y – a l r e a d y o b s e r v e d i n t h e 1 5 0 0 s – begins in the morning with a procession of local craftsmen carrying flags, led by a chief who symbolically receives the keys to the city, while the Bishop processes with the Blessed Sacrament. Maundy T h u r s d a y dives into the heart of the representations, with ecclesiastical celebra- tions culminating with the "washing of the feet" of elder confraternity members at the end of Mass, in remembrance of Jesus' actions for the apos- tles. After, altars of churches display the Sepolcri, pots of grain sprouts grown in dark- ness, and i lavureddi (small harvests) thought to trace back to Hellenic traditions. Meanwhile, sixteen Sacred Groups, the Vare, parade to depict the Stations of the Cross. Each Vara, majestic and adorned with flowers and lights, accompanied by devo- tees carrying candles and torches, consists of sculptures representing life-sized fig- ures, and is accompanied by a band. Good Friday is the day of passion, of the death of Christ on the cross, and of the sorrow of the Madonna, one o f t h e m o s t p o i g n a n t m o m e n t s o f t h e w e e k . D e p e n d i n g o n t h e c i t y o r t o w n , t h e D e a d C h r i s t i s depicted lying on a bier or in a glass urn (cataletto) or through Mysteries like the Ecce Homo or the statue of the Sorrowful Madonna. In o t h e r s , t h e e f f i g y o f t h e M a d o n n a r o a m s t h e c i t y searching for her Son and, upon finding him dead, the procession changes name and becomes the Giunta. This search may take place on Sat- urday. The Mysteries are wooden or stucco statues depicting moments of the P a s s i o n (Jesus Crucified, Jesus at the whipping post, Ecce Homo, Jesus bearing the cross, Jesus d e a d o n a b i e r ) a n d a r e b r o u g h t a r o u n d i n m a n y locations in Sicily like Enna, Biancavilla, Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, and others. Meanwhile, on Good Fri- d a y i n C a l t a n i s s e t t a , a group of barefoot men wear- ing purple tunics (the color of passion) carries a small 15th- c e n t u r y w o o d e n c r u c i f i x named the Black Christ while singing the Lamentations, dialectal tales of Jesus' death. Once it was the poorest, the wild vegetable gatherers, who sang the Lamentations along their path. Holy Saturday is the day of the last proces- sion of Jesus Christ before the Resurrection. Finally, on S u n d a y , t h e m e e t i n g between Jesus and the Virgin M a r y t a k e s p l a c e . T h e moment is referred to differ- ently depending on the loca- tion: u Scontru (Cassaro, Syracuse), u Ncontru (Ribera, Agrigento), "u Ncuontru" (Petralia Sottana, Palermo; Motta d'Affermo, Messina), a Junta (Caltagirone, Catania). When, after roaming the city, the Madonna finally meets her dead son, a flight of doves highlights the scene, prepar- ing the faithful for the Resur- rection of Jesus Christ. The c r o w n , w h i c h h a d b e e n removed on Good Friday as a sign of mourning, is placed back on Mary's head. In Sicily, Orthodox East- er is also celebrated by the Albanian communities locat- ed there: Piana degli Albane- si, Santa Cristina Gela, Mez- zoiuso, Contessa Entellina, a n d P a l a z z o A d r i a n o . I n P i a n a d e g l i A l b a n e s i , there is a tradition of decorat- i n g h a r d - b o i l e d e g g s a n d offering them to visitors at the city gates on Easter Sun- day. However, we must not for- get that every religious holi- day in Sicily is tied to food, and each occasion has its spe- cial dish. Roast lamb or lamb prepared in other ways domi- nates the table. Sweet delica- cies range from marzipan lambs — decorated with col- orful flags and placed in pens adorned with fake grass — to chocolate eggs containing surprises that children eager- ly await. And finally, the cas- sata, beautiful to look at and delicious to taste, is the queen o f a l l t a b l e s . T o d a y , i t i s enjoyed not only at Easter but on any occasion, to satisfy the m o s t s o p h i s t i c a t e d a n d demanding palates. We cannot omit a men- tion—since Easter is celebrat- ed in spring and symbolizes it in a way—of the flower that represented it in the iconog- raphy of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: t h e p a s s i o n f l o w e r , renamed passiflora by the Spanish Jesuit missionaries of the seventeenth century because they saw in it the symbol of Christ's passion. The colored filaments repre- sent the crown of thorns; the stamens, the five wounds of Jesus; the five petals, the apostles who remained faith- ful to him; the three stigmas, the nails in the hands and feet; the androgynophore, the pillar of the scourging; and f i n a l l y , t h e t e n d r i l s , t h e whips. TERESA DI FRESCO Easter and Its Mysteries LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Holy Week procession in Enna, Sicily (Photo: Bruno D Andrea/Dreamstime) Participants to the "Misteri" procession in Prizzi, Sicily (Photo: Emily Wilson/ Dreamstime)

• Cover