How we celebrate Easter in Italy
Vita gazette—Easter Day in Italy is a national holiday commemorating Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, as written in the Christian Bible. The Easter date is set around the March Equinox, so it changes every year. Its symbol is the egg, “symbolising fertility, renewal and life.”
From north to south, especially the Good Friday Passion has inspired numerous heartfelt rituals, including processions, re-enactments and staging.
Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem
In Christianity, Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. The significance of this day comes from Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before his death. Hearing of Jesus’ arrival in the city, people gathered to greet him. She lined her path with palm leaves, flowering branches, and fabrics. Some took off their cloaks and laid them on the ground. Acknowledging him as their King, they lavished praises such as “Blessed be the King who comes in the name of the Lord” and “Hosanna to the Son of David”.
Before entering Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus asked two of his disciples to bring him a donkey colt, also known as a colt. Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the colt to fulfil the Old Testament prophecy.
Many people came to greet Jesus and covered His path with palm leaves, flowering branches and fabrics. Then, recognising him as their King, they shouted praises such as “Blessed be the King who comes in the name of the Lord” and “Hosanna to the Son of David”.
Noted that from Old Testament times, the waving of palm branches accompanied the singing of “Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord.”
Catholics, Orthodox and some Protestant Churches celebrate the anniversary. The current liturgical calendar of the Roman liturgy is also called De Passione Domini Sunday (of the Lord’s passion). However, before the liturgical reform, the Sunday before Palm was called Passion Sunday, and the latter was called “the second Passion Sunday”.
One week after Palm Sunday is Easter Sunday. “At Easter, people sing hallelujah. Hallelujah means ‘praise the Lord Jehovah,’” Elder Gong said, quoting the Bible Dictionary, “Hallelujah.”
In the Catholic liturgical calendar, Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday but does not end Lent, which will end only with the celebration of the ninth hour of Maundy Thursday, the day on which, with the evening celebration, the sacred Easter triduum will begin.
In remembrance of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, the Palm Sunday liturgy starts outside the church where the faithful gather, and the priest blesses the olive or palm branches brought by the faithful. Then, the procession begins right inside the church. Once arrived here, the mass celebration continued with the extended reading of the Passio, i.e. the story of the Passion of Jesus taken from the Gospels of Mark, Luke and Matthew depending on the liturgical year; before the liturgical reform, the text of Matthew was always read. The story of the Passion is read by three people who play the part of Christ (read by the priest), the chronicler and the people (including some characters).
On this Sunday, the priest is dressed in red, unlike all the others in Lent (except the fourth, in which he can wear pink vestments).
The celebrations of Easter begin the previous Sunday
The celebrations of Easter begin the previous Sunday to remember the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which was welcomed by the waving of palm leaves. Today, it is not uncommon to see families and children returning home with olive branches blessed in the church (in the absence of palm trees).
Thus begins the Holy Week, during which various rites are held. Thursday remembers the recurrence of the Last Supper and the “Eucharistic celebration”.
Good Friday is the day of Via Crucis: the streets light up with torches and are crossed by processions that retrace the process, the ordeal and the death of Jesus.
On Saturday at midnight, the bells announce the Resurrection. Sunday is the most critical day, Lent, the long fasting period, is over colourful eggs, dove-shaped cakes and chocolate eggs are distributed. The egg, a symbol of life that renews itself and hopes for fruitfulness, is connected to the meaning of Easter as the feast of spring and the awakening of nature.
The celebrations of Easter begin the previous Sunday
The celebrations of Easter begin the last Sunday to remember the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which was welcomed by the waving of palm leaves. Today, it is not uncommon to see families and children returning home with olive branches blessed in the church (in the absence of palm trees).
Thus begins the Holy Week, during which various rites are held. Thursday remembers the recurrence of the Last Supper and the “Eucharistic celebration”.
Good Friday is the day of Via Crucis: the streets light up with torches and are crossed by processions that retrace the process, the ordeal and the death of Jesus.
On Saturday at midnight, the bells announce the Resurrection. Sunday is the most critical day, Lent, the long fasting period, is over colourful eggs, dove-shaped cakes and chocolate eggs are distributed. The egg, a symbol of life that renews itself and hopes for fruitfulness, is connected to the meaning of Easter as the feast of spring and the awakening of nature.
Easter Monday
In Italy, the so-called Easter Monday – Pasquetta – Little Easter or Pasquetta – is the last day of celebration. Remember the meeting of the winged messenger with the women who came to the empty tomb.
È un giorno di festa che, tempo permettendo, si trascorre insieme a parenti o amici con la tradizionale gita fuori porta o scampagnata, accompagnata da un bel picnic o da una grigliata. Mangiamo anche più uova di cioccolato.
Easter is one of the most important holidays of the year in Italy, but not as big as Christmas. We celebrate it on Sunday, starting from mass in the morning or the evening prior, and then have a big lunch with the family. The meal can be done at a restaurant or home, it depends on the family. At the end of the meal, we have chocolate eggs of any kind and the Colomba. Unlike other countries, we do not have the Easter egg hunt. In recent years, though, in some parts of Italy, the Coniglio Pasquale is starting to be present, but not as popular as it is in America.
We hold religious parades and colourful celebrations in many towns and cities. A statue of Jesus or his mother, Mary, is carried in street processions involving large crowds of people, accompanied by priests and nuns.
In Bormio, we find the tradition of the Pasquali: the parade of allegorical floats adorned with flowers and moss brought by young people in traditional costumes.
In the centre-north, we find instead Easter celebrations whose protagonist is the egg: the Sagra and the Palio del Nuovo in Tredozio with games, battles and parades of allegorical floats.
The dove is the protagonist of the famous celebration of the Scoppio del Carro in Florence, which dates back to the first Crusade. On Easter Sunday, a mechanical dove hits a cart in front of the Duomo of Florence, thus lighting the fireworks contained in the cart.
Sicily is rich in ancient local rituals and customs where masked characters parade through the streets of the cities. Among the most suggestive, we find the Real Maestranza in Caltanissetta, which dates back to the Spanish domination, the procession of the Mysteries in Trapani and the celebrations in Prizzi and Adrano, an eighteenth-century tradition handed down from father to son.
Those who stay or visit Italy are spoiled for choice among the many traditions and costumes that can be admired in every city and village.
Easter Sunday is a public holiday. Government offices, post offices, banks, schools and other educational institutions are closed.
Transportation options such as taxis, rail services between major cities and significant long-distance bus lines are available on Easter Day. However, consult the local transportation authorities before setting off.
The traditions and activities of the Easter holiday have their roots in pagan celebrations. Easter is believed to come from the goddess of rebirth, Eostara. Easter Day is celebrated not only in Italy but in many countries worldwide. It marks the beginning of the warm season and outdoor activities. Popular festivals, village festivals, concerts, religious rites and processions are just some of the events organised during this period.
Finally, not to be missed in Rome, the evocative Via Crucis of the Pope reaches the Colosseum.
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