Tag: feast
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Breadmaking As A Ritual
Ritual bread making in honor of Saint Joseph (San Giuseppe) in Salemi.
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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…
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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…
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The Saintly Details
Santa Rosalia, as illustrated in this year’s Archi di Pasqua… Created in a mosaic style using cereals. She is depicted holding a skull, which is a reminder of our mortality.
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Joy In The Community Effort In Sicily
The Arches of Easter or gli Archi di Pasqua continues in San Biagio Platani until June 2. It is truly an extraordinary event to visit. Two brotherhoods of the town–the Jesus side (pictured) and the Mary side spend months preparing artwork with which they line the main street of town in celebration of Easter. Yet…
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The Easter Bread Arches of San Biagio Platani
Live from Sicily! We’ve experienced so much during these past two days while in Agrigento Province. A highlight has been seeing the work of the two brotherhoods from San Biagio Platini for their annual Archi di Pane, or the Easter Bread Arches. An Easter Sunday procession that unites Jesus and Mary in the center of…