FEASTS, FESTIVALS & HOLIDAYS

February

From Easter Sunday, we have to backtrack the 40 days of Lent to a Wednesday. The Tuesday before that Wednesday is known as Fat Tuesday (Martedi Grasso) and is the last day of Carnivale. The manifestation, therefore, will be the 10 to 14 days leading up to this Fat Tuesday.

Carnivale or Carnival is celebrated all over the country this month. Derived from carnem levare, literally, 'remove the meat' in Latin, carnival officially starts the last Sunday in January and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of Lent, the period of 40 days abstinence during which Christians were once forbidden from eating meat. It's a pagan holiday of medieval origin dating back to ancient winter rites when disguises and laughter were used to chase away the evil spirits of winter. During the first week of celebrations adults go to veglioni (late night parties), often wearing costumes and masks while children wear disguises to school and around the piazzas feeding on the candies stuffed in their pockets. Carnevale pastries (which are thin dough strips fried and dusted with powdered sugar) called fritelle, tortelli or chiacchiere fill the shops. Celebrations reach a crescendo of parties and parades on the final day, Martedi Grasso (Fat Tuesday) when a symbol of the carnival itself is burned on a bonfire (with many regional variations on this theme). Local traditions often play a major role in the way carnival is celebrated, giving the festivities unique flavour in many cities and towns. The duration of the festivities varies from locality to locality but it usually lasts a week to ten days from beginning to end. Everything remains open and the country takes on a festive, party spirit.

Carnivals or Carnevale are celebrated all over Italy, strictly speaking it is the lead up to Lent. Venice has a tremendous fortnight-long masked event and the celebrations on the Tuscan seaside resort of Viareggio are world famous. But the little Tuscan city of Foiano della Chiana, near Arezzo, claims its celebration as the oldest in the region, with the first Carnevale taking place on 18 January 1809, 64 years before Viareggio. With parades of giant floats, colourful masks and costumes, music and dancing, and a feast of good food on sale in the streets, this is great fun for families.If you're used to carnivals running over a day or two you can't be familiar with such festivals in Italy. The celebrations here run from the last Sunday in January to the third Sunday in February.

February 3rd
Saint Bagio Day. This Saint supposedly saved a youngster who had a fishbone stuck in his throat. For this, he became the Patron of Sore Throats. The tradition is to eat a slice of leftover panettone (a type of angelfood cake) with a glass of wine to bless one's throat (look for two for the price of one panettone specials). You'll find many panettone cakes on sale just before this holiday.

SPELLO - the third Sunday in February
Olive and bruschetta festivals. This celebration of the olive harvest features bruschetta which is a country flat bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with newly pressed extra-virgin olive oil. A group of olive pickers parades on their tractors from the countryside into the town singing folk songs and carrying branches cut from the olive trees. Joined by the townspeople, they proceed to three taverns, one for each neighborhood of the city, which for this special day serve hot mulled wine, roast pork, grilled sausages, white beans and polenta. There is constant passing out of free samples of bruschetta and folk groups performing songs and popular dances to liven up the festival (called the Saltarello).

February 14th / National Holiday observed in all of Italy
San Valentino (Saint Valentine's Day). The most popular legend depicting the origin of Valentine's day tells us that some 1700 years ago the Roman Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage claiming that it decreased his male soldiers' zest for battle. Despite the Emperor's decree, a priest by the name of Valentine is said to have continued to perform marriage ceremonies for those who requested it. On February 14th, 269 AD, Valentine was beheaded for his commitment to young love. According to lore, lovers in Italy and around the world have been celebrating the memory of Valentine ever since. Italian storefronts and street vendors are flush with fresh flowers and candies. All commerce remains normal with state and federal offices functioning as they always do...

www.pictureframes.co.uk/pages/saint_valentine.htm
www.catholic.org/saints/saints/valentine.html

Festa della Donna on 8 March sees men all over Italy presenting bunches of mimosa to the special woman in their life. And 19 March sees the Feast of San Giuseppe, Italy's Father's Day. And a growing celebration is the Festival of Air, an eco-response to traffic pollution. To celebrate the arrival of spring, around 400 towns close their streets to cars.