EASTER What is it Easter is a Christian

EASTER

What is it? Easter is a Christian festival celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary, as described in the New Testament. Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar and it varies between 22 March and 25 April.

Celebration In Italy people celebrate Easter with rituals and processions

Some traditions The “Scoppio del carro” celebration (Explosion of the cart) is very popular In Florence and dates back about to 300 years ago. A huge decorated cart (built in 1679, with some fireworks attached) is dragged through Florence by white oxen decorated in garlands, until it reaches the Duomo (Cathedral). In Sardinia, there is the celebration of Oliena: two processions, one carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary and another carrying a statue of Jesus Christ, meet after a long walk through the village streets. The curious thing is that, people who don’t participate to the processions are in their balconies and celebrate by shooting in the air, announcing the resurrection. A special mention has to be given to the Easter festivals of Procida, dating back to XVI century, one of the most evocative, celebrated in the open air, in the squares of the ancient districts, tasting the traditional Mediterranean cuisine.

Traditional food Easter Day, like Christmas Day, is usually spent with family, relatives and friends sitting around the table, drinking good Italian wine and eating typical Italian traditional dishes. It’s not Easter if you don’t eat lamb accompanied by roast potatoes or fresh green salad. There is also a typical Italian Easter cake called ” Colomba Pasquale ” (Easter dove), whose name comes from the white dove, symbol of peace and harmony. The traditional Colomba is similar to our Christmas Panettone, decorated with raisins and candied fruit, but there are many other variants of this Easter cake, made with cream and chocolate or entirely covered with almonds and nuts. Children look forward to Easter day just to receive their Easter egg: a big egg made of milk chocolate with a special surprise inside.

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