EXPRESSING OUR LATIN ROOTS THROUGH THE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Index• Pictures• Christmas – the “Presepe”- The

Epiphany • Easter• Italian recipes

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Christmas and…….

……….The Presepe

An affresco of the Nativity and San Francesco of Assisi

Tradition attributes to San Francesco the merit of introducing the Presepio to the vast cycle of Christmas customs, when, at Christmas 1223 in the village of Greccio near Assisi, as we are told by St Bonaventure,

he took a manger and filled it with hay, tied an ass and an ox near it and with a crowd of people from all over the neighbooring countryside attended the celebration of Mass in front of the crib.

The Origin of Nativity Scenes

“... Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the place where travellers lodged.”

What is the “Presepio”?

According to Luca the Evangelist (2,7) Jesus was born in a stable or at least in a place where animals were kept. In fact the word presepio (Nativity Scene) comes from the Latin verb “praesepire” (to enclose, to hedge, to fence) and today it means manger or crib.

The Neapolitan Presepio tradition

The Italian crèche (American word for “Presepio” ) consists basically of two parts: a basic one, called "mistero", including

Mary, Joseph, Child Jesus, angels, ox and donkey, and a complementary part called "diversorio", including everything else, that is the pub, the news of the nativity, the market and

hundreds of characters. The nativity group is placed among the ruins of a temple, against a mountain background, coloured so

as to create the impression of a winter sunset. Among the characters there are the beggar, the sleeping man, the blind

man, the gypsy, the women following the Magi, called georgians, tarantella dancers, tartar warriors. The statues are

traditionally 30-35 cm. In the Christmas season in via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples , the "mercatino dei pastori"

(shepherds' market) is held, where statues of all kinds are on sale.

Neapolitan examples of Presepio

Old pictures of the Presepio

Epiphany: the legendThe word Epiphany

derives from Greek “Eptfaneia” which

means:“manifestation” or

“appearing”. the legend of “La Befana” is that of an old witch lady

with a big red nose and slight hunch, dressed in a jacket of colourful patches.

 

The Legend wants that on the 12th night of Christmas (January 5th) the “Magi” (Wise men), on

their looking for the baby Jesus, asked “La Befana” to join them in their quest. She initially declined,

stating she had too much housework to do but  later she

changed her mind and went looking for the 3 Wise Men and the baby Jesus, but was unable to find them. Therefore, every

year, on the night of January 5th, “La Befana”, will travel on her

magic broom, to every house in search of the baby Jesus

What does the Befana do?

Climbing down the chimneys, she brings candies and all kind of toys to the children who were good and black coal , onions or garlic to the children who were naughty.   The children will leave out their stockings the night before, hoping to find them full of sweets the morning after.Similar to the Santa Claus tradition, many of the children will write notes to “La Befana”.

Easter in Italy: the celebration of Jesus Resurrection

The word comes from the Jewish “Pesach” and it is the Christian holiday based on the pagan festival called Eostur-Monath. there are many ceremonies and culinary customs that are religiously upheld. Some traditions are regional, for instance the “palm exchange” on Palm Sunday as a symbol of peace.The Last Supper, three days before Easter Sunday, is generally assumed to have coincided with the “Seder” meal at the Jewish festival of Passover (Pesach). Passover occurred on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan ,the first month of the Jewish religious calendar.

The celebration of Easter in Italy

Solemn religious processions are held in many towns on the Friday or Saturday before Easter and

sometimes on Easter Sunday. Many churches have special statues of the Virgin and Jesus that

play a big part in the processions. The statues may be paraded through the city or displayed in the

main square. Parade participants are often dressed in traditional ancient costumes. Olive branches are often used instead of, or along with palm fronds in

the processions and to decorate churches. The Monday following Easter, la Pasquetta,is also a holiday throughout Italy and people use to have

picnics in the countryside or at the seaside.

Typical Neapolitan food and symbols

Pulcinella Pizza and Spaghetti

Christmas: the “struffoli” 6 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 pound butter 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 4 vanilla beans 2 tablespoon baking powder 1 gallon vegetable oil 1 pound honey 1 small jar candy sprinkles

Carnival: the “Chiacchiere”• 7 cups (700 g) all purpose

flour • 4 ounces (100 g) live baker's

yeast (the cakes of yeast you will find in the dairy section of the supermarket)

• 4 eggs • 1/2 cup (100 g) butter • The grated zest (yellow part

only) of three organically grown lemons

• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar • 1 cup warm milk • Oil for frying

Easter : the Pastiera

5 grams of butter 150 mililiter of milk

1 lemon 400 gr. of Pasta frolla

600 gr. of soft ricotta cheese 4 eggs

200 gr. of sugar sugar veil

1 teaspoon of orange flowers 1 grain cup

Saint Joseph feast: the Zeppole 1 cup hot water

1/2 cup butter1 Tbsp sugar1/2 tsp salt1 cup sifted all-purpose flour4 eggs1 tsp grated orange peel1 tsp grated lemon peel

Realized By 4B InformaticFrom Iti – LS “ F. Giordani “

– Caserta

Coordinator prof.ssa Patrizia LucibelloTranslated by prof.ssa Alda NicosiaWeb coordinator prof.ssa Fulvia Palermo

Financed by the European Community