Sunday in NYC: Let’s eat rice balls!! Santa Lucia is the patron saint of grain, and as a result, arancine, or rice balls, are a significant element to celebrating the Feast of Santa Lucia. So much so, that in Palermo, her feast day is also the Sagra delle Arancine. Why rice balls (pictured)? To commemorate…
Tag: feast
Let’s Celebrate Santa Lucia In New York Together
You are invited to Celebrate La Festa di Santa Lucia! Next Sunday in New York City at Cacio e Vino, Experience Sicily will host the Feast of Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy), the beloved patroness from Siracusa, Sicily who is venerated from Venice to Sweden and beyond. It is a festival of light to help us…
Ancient Myths Light The Way
The legend of Santa Lucia starts before the early 4th century CE, when the maiden was killed by Roman soldiers for being Christian. Lucy’s story as we know it today starts with the ancient Greek divinities Demeter and Persephone. Demeter is the goddess of the grain, the harvest, and fertility. Persephone, Demeter’s daughter, is the…
Places in Sicily That Speak To The Heart
Discover the secret places in Sicily that speak to the heart, those like Licodia Eubea (pictured), when author John Keahey reads from his book “Sicilian Splendors” on Sunday in New York City. Join us! Details and RSVP at https://experiencesicily.com/events/book-reading-with-john-keahey/
Celebrate Saint Lucy In New York City
Now that the clocks have changed and the daylight is growing shorter here in the northeastern United States, I turn to Santa Lucia or Saint Lucy, the patron saint of light, to guide me. Her official feast day is December 13, which, before the change to the Gregorio calendar, was the date of the winter…
Appreciation For The Connection Of Life And Death
Novembre 2 is the Day of the Dead (Giorno dei Morti or in Sicilian, Un juornu re muorti), also known as All Souls Day. Sicilians, who have a profound appreciation for the connection of life and death, spend this holiday recognizing their dead loved ones by visiting their graves, often enjoying a picnic while at…
Celebrating The Madonna On September 8
September 8 is considered the birthday of the Blessed Mother by the Catholic Church. As a result, throughout Sicily this weekend, there are festivals to celebrate the Madonna. It’s not clear why this date was officially chosen as such; however, because this time of the agricultural year is traditionally a major harvest season, for centuries…
Breadmaking As A Ritual
Ritual bread making in honor of Saint Joseph (San Giuseppe) in Salemi.
Sicily’s Legend Of Colapesce
The Sicilian legend of Colapesce was illustrated beautifully during the 2019 Archi di Pasqua of San Biagio Platani. Colapesce is a hero in Sicilians’ eyes. Born Nicola di Messina, the name Colapesce is rooted in Cola from Nicola and Pesce, fish. Colapesce was nicknamed so because he was an apt swimmer who could hold his…
Live from Sicily! Remote Town, Day 1: Welcome From The Mayor
Live from Sicily! Day 1 of Life In A Remote Sicilian Town. Guests have arrived, the mayor of Licodia Eubea came to dinner to welcome us to town, and the luminarie along the “Strada lunga” (Long street, i.e., the local name for their main street) are lit for this year’s Feast of Santa Margherita. This…