| MANGIA BENE PASTA |
| ITALIAN EASTER |
| "La Festa di Pasqua" |
| We celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon of spring. It is a celebration of rebirth and hope and, for Christians, a celebration of the resurrection. In Italy, the week before Easter is the most solemn of them all. It is a time of refection and special church services beginning with the observance of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and culminating in the glorious celebration on Easter Sunday. Italians consider Easter Sunday to be a more "relaxed" holiday than Christmas. There is an old saying, "Natale con I tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuol" (Christmas at home with your family, Easter with whomever you please.) |
| In addition to the many religious observations at Eastertime, there is a traditional Easter feast with a great deal of symbolism found in the foods prepared. No Easter table would be complete without eggs, lamb, and bread. |
| According to tradition, the egg represents the origins of life, rebirth, hope, and new beginnings. Eggs are abundantly present in the Easter breads and sweet and savory cakes of the season. Hollow chocolate eggs, often with a gift inside, are traditionally exchanged. |
| The lamb, representing innocence and the sacrificed Christ (the lamb of God), is referred to as the Pascal lamb. It is the meat of choice on an Italian dinner table at Easter. Many families will roast an entire lamb. We are providing you with a wonderful recipe for a basil-stuffed lamb roast with rosemary potatoes. Lamb keeps its place on the Easter table even with desserts. The often-elaborate lamb-shaped Easter cake can be found as the centerpiece on many Italian Easter tables. |
| Bread also has a religious significance at Eastertime, for Christ is often referred to as "the bread of life." Hand-fashioned egg-decorated breads vary from region to region in Italy and go by many different names. But the commonality of baking whole eggs twisted or braided into bread is part of the theme of Easter; again, eggs being the symbol of rebirth. |
| Last, but not least, are the desserts. The traditional Italian Easter cake, called columba, is made in the shape of a dove, the symbol of peace. The masterpiece of Neopolitan pastries is La Pastiera, a wheat-berry cake with ricotta, candied fruit, and orange blossom water. The Sardinian Pardulas, also known as formagelle, combine the delicate flavor of pastry dough and citrus flavoring with the taste of fresh cheese. In Bologna, rice cake used to be made only at Easter, an occasion for spirited rivalry among those families that claimed to have the most delicious and authentic recipe. |
| ITALIAN EASTER RECIPES |
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