N. 4 Aprile 2007
We are in the period of Carnival, a very popular feast all over the world and in Italy too. We want to tell you something about our most popular masks and traditions. Carnival has always been the children’s feast, but it also involves adult people. This feast has religious origins: it is directly connected with Easter, in fact Carnival is celebrated the week before Easter. The word Carnival comes maybe from the medieval Latin word “carnem levare”, that is “cutting meat” from the catholic prohibition to eat meat during Lent. Masks are the real protagonists of Carnival. The most ancient Italian mask is “Arlecchino” dating back to the XVI century. He came from Bergamo, but later he moved to Venice. Other popular Italian masks are “Pulcinella” from Naples, “Balanzone” from Bologna, “Gianduia” from Turin, “Stenterello” from Florence, “Brighella” from Bergamo and the only female mask “Colombina” from Venice.
ARLECCHINO He is the most famous, ancient and popular Italian mask. He is the symbol of the joker and speaks in the Venice dialect. His dress is bright and full of colours.
PANTALONE He is a very popular Venice mask. He was also called “the first old man” and spoke the language of Venice. Maybe his name comes from “San Pantaleone”, one of the most celebrated saints in Venice. Others say that his name comes from “Piantaleoni”, that is the name given to merchants who planted “St. Mark’s lion” in the lands they conquered to set commercial colonies. It also derives from “Panta Leonda”, that is “powerful in all things”.
BRIGHELLA is Arlecchino’s fellow. He also comes from Bergamo, but he is not a servant like Arlecchino. He does a lot of jobs (and not always honest) and when heis in troubles he uses reason (not legs as Arlecchino does) to escape from punishment.
BALANZONE He is the mask of the town of Bologna. He is a doctor, but not a good doctor. He is a very vain person.
COLOMBINA She is a maid and was born in the XV century. She used to laugh of lovers’ pains. She was called “Columbine” , because a famous actress who played her role, brought under her arm a basket with two doves inside it. She delivers secret messages and arranges secret meetings. She is sometimes a liar, but only for helping people. She is vain and nice.
TARTAGLIA He is a mask from Naples. He is always angry for hia default, in fact he is a stammerer and this fact causes him serious problems with communicating.
MENEGHINO He is a mask from Lombardia, a region in north Italy. He always laughs of aristocrats’ defaults and vices. “Domenghin” was the nickname given to servants, who accompanied noble women for a walk on Sundays.
BEPPE NAPPA He remembers the mask of Pierrot, but unlike him he is not melancholic. He represents a Sicily lazy-bones, who is always sleepy and yawns.
FARINELLA He is the symbol of Carnival in Putignano, a nice town near Monopoli, in Puglia. His name comes from “farinella” ( “a povele” in our local dialect), that is a poor food composed of a mixture of chickpeas and roasted barley flour. His aspect is like that of a jolly, with a bright and coloured dress and jingle bells on his hat, shoes and collar.
ROSAURA She is Pantalone’s daughter and is fallen in love with florindo, a courageous but not rich knight, so that Pantalone doesn’t want him to marry Rosaura.
RUGANTINO The Roman Rugantino represents the typical roman “braggart” or “boaster”. He often tells lies or tells exaggerated things, so he is often in troubles and also hurt by people who are offended by him.
PULCINELLA
He is often Arlecchino’s rival, above all in love intrigues. He is one of the most famous and popular Italian masks and is the symbol of his town, Naples, because he is generous and spontaneous. He is always hungry and in search of something to eat. Carnival in Italy Carnival is celebrated in many Italian towns, but the most famous of them is the one in Venice. Also in Putignano and Viareggio there are two very famous Carnival feasts with wonderful mask parades and people floating along the roads ,laughing,
joking and singing. In occasion of Putignano and Venice’s Carnival lotteries are also organised and people who buy the lucky ticket can win a big sum of money. Tell us something about your carnival tradition. We are curious and we don’t look forward to hearing from you soon.
The pupils of the computer lab class IG
St. Valentine’s day (14 february)
In these days St. Valentine‟s day is celebrated all over the world. Do you know that in 176 he was bishop of Terni, that is an Italian town. We also know the reason why he is considered the patron of lovers. The story tells that he was imprisoned and martyrized because he didn‟t want to renounce to the Christian faith . While he was in prison before the capital punishment he fell in love with the blind daughter of the guardian. According to the legend he gave her sight again thanks to a miracle. He also left her a farewell love message signed “by your Valentine”. In Italy lovers exchange presents (above all flowers) on St. Valentine‟s day.
The images of lovers of Peynet
They were born from the pencil of Raymond Peynet, French artist, in the distant 1942 and very famous in Italy, as all over the world.
Saint Joseph’s bonfires in Monopoli. Joseph‟s Day is in Monopoli on the 19th of March: a symbolic tradition is the burning of big fires fed by wood piles. Two weeks before the 19th of March boys meet together and go searching for woods: there is a high excitement through the historical centre of the town, in its narrow streets, in the squares in front of churches… everybody goes searching for old boards, tables, wooden material which are sacrificed for the bonfires… the fronts of each house is lighted by gigantic bonfires and flames often become very high and dangerous. In circle around the fires, boys turn around the flames; when the flames are quite over, they jump on the embers singing, while other boys try to feed the fire. This feast is often organized by the St. Joseph‟s Confraternity in San Leonardo Street, but sometimes people organize, in front of each bonfire, little musical and folkloristic spectacles and offer sweets, bakes, “zeppole” and “focaccia” to all visitors.
“Le Zeppole” of Saint JosephThe mother’s festivity
The traditions in the spring in our country
Saint Annunziata’s Fair Saint Annunziata‟s Fair was introduced by Roberto D‟Angiò, or by his nice Giovanna I, about in 1358. Everybody could deal his goods paying nothing to the Government. The fair begun with Jesus‟ Annunciation, on the 25th March and it lasted for eight days; it took place in an area which covered the municipal park, the port, Plebiscito‟s square and Garibaldi‟s road. Nowadays the fair is one of the finest moments of the year; in the fair you can buy everything: clothes, flowers, books, toys, costume jewellery tools for work as well and lots of other things.
Palm Sunday
In our town Palm Sunday is celebrated so: some days before the Palm Sunday you get some olive branches or some palm leaves, which symbolize peace. On Sunday morning you make them bless. Sometimes on Palm Sunday morning some people sell olive branches and palm leaves blessed door-to-door. Sometimes olive branches are painted with gilded-paint or silver-plated paint. As a sign of peace people give each other olive branches.
The Holy Week
Long time ago in the town came lots of people from the nearby countries. On Tuesday the first procession comes out with the figure of Our Grieved Lady, which crosses all the town roads. On Friday the second procession comes out. It is the Mysteries‟ Procession which starts from Saint Francis of Assisi‟s church. In this church for all the year the figure of the Mysteries are kept (Jesus in the field, Jesus at the column, Jesus with the cross. All these figure describe the Jesus‟ Passion). In front of the queue of people, in the procession, there are the figures which are carried by shoulders, by religious congregations. Walking
in the procession you can hear a noise; this is the noise of the crackle( “trènele” which means whimper in Greek). They are some woods on which are fixed in row, the door knockers; when they are shaken, they make a very string noise. They were introduced in 1600 instead of the women paid crying for the dead. The procession stops some minutes in front of the Purgatorio‟s Church ( Our Lady of the Suffrage). The Confraternity‟s members bring on their shoulders Our Grieved Lady‟s figure, which follows in procession Jesus‟ figure. On Holy Saturday midday bells get free from the dead sadness and pain and start singing to celebrate Jesus‟ Resurrection day.
Easter
The Easter period goes from the 25th of March to the 25th of April. This festivity happens in the same period of the year both for Jewish and Christian religion. For Jewish, Easter is the commemoration of the escape from Egypt, towards the Promise Earth, guided by Moses. For Christians, it commemorates the Christ‟s passion and resurrection. With the Last Dinner, Jesus brakes the bread and shares it with his disciples, offering his body as sacrifice for all humanity. This episode gives a particular value to food, respect to the other festivities. People give eggs, true or made of chocolate, as a rebirth and fertility symbol: in fact, this period coincides with the start of spring. We can find other symbols in Easter sweets, like the marzipan lambs, the doves and the cakes whose shapes seem like the thorn crown on Jesus‟ head. On Easter Sunday people relax in their families, eating lamb and boiled eggs (on eggs shells our ancestors used to do lots of decorations). On Easter Monday it‟s the pic-nic day, according to the weather. At the seaside or in the countryside, the best things it is meeting with friends and relatives and spending the whole day outside, now that spring has finally closed the doors to winter.
The mother’s festivity On the second Sunday of may, in Italy and mithe world, children of all ages will bring their mothers flowers, sweets, presents and small gifts. The origins of this festivity date back in the centuries and in the peoples till ancient Greeks and Romans who celebrated dimities of fertility in this period of the year. In the month of may, infect, nature‟s rebirth is more evident and joyful, in the explosion of flowers and scent‟s spread by the first warm air. The festivities in may = The flowers festivity In this period of the year Romans greeted spring „s arrival with religious rites and popular festivities in honour of Earth‟s timidities. Roman festivities in the month of may were destined to give a good reception to spring and, above all, to flowers and in particular to roses. Romans loved this flower very much, not only as a decorative abject, but also in their daily life: roses marmalade, wines with roses fragrance, roses petals scattered in the dinners and the houses. For this reason they deducted a whole week to the nature rebirth with “Floralie”, in honour of flora, the flowers divinity. These tradition are still alive in many Europeans countries.
Monopoli festivals
are as many as its 91 districts, scattered all over the countryside near the town. They take place from May to September and all are more or less connected to food and/or wine. The festivals are organized in the countryside and are supported by the people living in those districts in summer. Common dishes are frittelle , panzerotti (kinds of pancakes ) roasted chicken or meat on the spit, sandwiches, orecchiette or meat-balls. "Panzerotti" recipe: make lots of small disks of dough
and put in the middle of each of them a previously prepared mix of tomato, mozzarella cut into pieces ,spring ricotta, hot pepper and salt. The little disk of dough is closed in the shape of a half moon and is pressed on its edge in order to keep its content while it is fried in hot olive oil . Beer or sparkling white wine can be served with panzerotti .
Dragobete, 24 February Around this day, the birds begin to arrange their nests and mate. Dragobete, considered the son of Dochia, is, by opposition to the latter, a positive character. He is the patron of pure love and good will and he is identified with Cupid, the Roman god of love and with his Greek counterpart, Eros. During the day, considered locally the first day of spring, the boys and girls pick up spring flowers and sing together. The unmelted snow still present in many villages used to be collected and the water obtained used as a magic potion by young girls during the year. The tradition is well kept especially in the villages of Oltenia, a region in the south of Romania. However, a good place to witness it is the Village Museum of Bucharest (the capital of Romania), where bands of villagers from various regions celebrate Dragobete by playing instruments, dancing and singing.
1st of March – 1 Martie The month of February is gone … we turn another page from our calendar … and the Spring is here! That is because the Romanians are celebrating the Spring at the beginning of the month of March.
According to the old Roman calendar, the 1st of March was the first day of the year and was celebrating the “Matronalia”, where was celebrated Mars, the god of the forces of the nature, of Spring and agriculture. Each year, on the first of March, we are regaining our hope, our optimism and faith in better. March is the moment in which the people begin to look for snowdrops – as signs of arrival of Spring. It is now that the frost is beginning to pale before the sunshine, and after a long and hard Winter, the live, the Sun and the Spring wins. This triumph of the resurrection and regeneration is invoqued by the “Martisor” that we give to those that we care, as a small appreciation gift that will bring them happiness and luck. WHAT IS THE “MARTISOR”? The meaning of the “martisor” is the same through the ages: a symbol of Spring, of rebirth of live. It brings us optimism and faith. The look of it has changed throughout the time. At first, it was symbolized by a coin. Later it appears as small stones painted in white and red, on a string. Nowadays, colorful beads, ceramic and flowers have taken their place.
ORIGIN OF “MARTISOR” At it‟s beginning, the “martisor” was a gold or silver coin, to which was attached a string made of two colors – white and red, that symbolized the fight between live and death, between health and sickness and was weared by sensitive people (children and young girls). There was the belief according to which this amulet was a luck and happiness bringer.
Carnival in Poland
Carnival - after an old Polish habit called “zapusty”, is the time from New Year up to Ash Wednesday. This is a time of pleasure, feasts and dancing which takes place right before the long fasting period.
A very important day of the carnival is called Fat Thurdsay (Tłusty czwartek). Poles can enjoy the last days before Lent, which strictly forbids loud parties and meat dishes. Fat Thursday started in Poland long ago when Thursday was the traditional day for over-eating before Friday‟s fast. On Tłusty czwartek, Poles stuff themselves with “pączeks” while on the following Tuesday, known as Fat Tuesday throughout the world and the last day before the official start of Lent (Ash Wednesday), Poles dance and party to burn off calories and have fun before the season of abstinence. A pączek is defined as “a filled baked good in a round shape, fried in fat.” The usual filling for pączeks is plum butter and other marmalades. In recent years, however, the variety of fillings has expanded to liquour, pudding and even whipped cream. On this day throughout Poland confectioners sell about ten times more pączeks than on a regular day. The average pączek is around 7cm and weighs 4.5 dkg. Its caloric
value is 220-230 calories, depending on the filling. To burn this amount of calories, you need to walk for 2 hours or run for over a half hour.
Mother's Day in Poland Mother's Day (Dzień Matki) in Poland is celebrated on the 26th of May. On this day children give mums small presents – chocolates or flowers. They also prepare so called "laurki" for their mothers. ( laurka - is a sheet of paper decorated with flowers on which children write their wishes). Mother's Day is marked with the special celebrations in schools and kindergardens. Schools often carry special ceremonies or classes to commemorate Mother's Day and pupils give short performances with songs and poems for their mums.
Children’s Day The International Children's Day was introduced in Poland in the early fifties of XX century. It is celebrated on 1st June. It coincides with the beginning of summer and since it takes place near the end of the school year - it is usually treated as a holiday. Although children attend schools on this day schools usually organize some special activities for them - like outdoor plays or the field trips. This day and also the whole week of the beginning of June is the time of the festivities organized in the
parks and entertainment centers. Parents usually buy some small gifts to their kids the smaller the children the bigger the gifts.
On this Day all students from our school usually spend the day on the playground. We have parties, competitions and play team games (running, jumping, etc.). The tradition is that every year our teachers perform of a famous fairy tale for us. They dress us as funny characters. It is very amusing! Later, every child gets a snack such as ice-cream. This day is really enjoyable for all of us!
The First Day of Spring
On 21st March we celebrate the first day of spring. Children come to school in colourful clothes. We don‟t have regular classes. There are different competitions. Last year each class in our school created a special composition from flowers. There was also a fashion show, where two members from each class presented special spring clothes. Traditionally, on the first day of spring many children make a big doll, called “Marzanna” and dress it in colourful clothes. Later, they drown the doll in the river, which symbolizes the end of winter. Sometimes teachers take the pupils on a picnic or they go to the forest and they look for flowers. It is a very enjoyable celebration.
Sinking of Marzanna
Palm Sunday
In Poland we celebrate Palm Sunday (in Polish Niedziela Palmowa) exactly one week before Easter. It commemorates the day when Jesus arrived to Jerusalem. He was welcomed by crowds of cheering and happy people holding the branches of palm trees. Palms are regarded as a symbol of the revival Nowadays Polish people go to church with palms made of dried flowers, hay or cereal, such as wheat or oat. They are usually very colourful and have different sizes.. During the mass there is usually a procession around the church with the palms.Some towns organize competitions for the biggest and most beautiful palms. Palm Sunday starts a Holy Week which is the most important week in year for Christians.
EASTER
Easter is a very religious holiday in Poland. Before Easter Polish people do a lot of cleaning and make preparations. On Good Friday, when Jesus Christ died on the cross we usually go to church and pray for Him. In the evening families decorate and dye eggs. On Easter Eve we go to church with a basket full of Easter food. In the basket we have: decorated eggs, ham, bread, butter, lamb, salt, pepper, sausages and horseradish. The priest blesses the food. On Sunday morning we eat this food for a special breakfast. Monday is often called "Wet Monday" because on this day people sprinkle water on their family and friends. This tradition is very funny. We must be careful because we can be really wet!
Easter Basket
Easter Eggs
Every year an Easter performance is organized in our school. These photos are from the previous year‟s performance. Pupils from class 6 were dressed up as different characters. It was very funny.
Corpus Christi The Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) or Boże Ciało is a public holiday which is celebrated in June (on a Thursday)all over Poland. The whole village or town usually becomes involved in a procession through the streets. People decorate their windows with religious icons. The traffic is stopped and at midday the procession leaves the Church and the people walk around the streets together stopping on route at various temporary shrines to pray. The shrines are decorated with branches from Birch trees, and members of the procession tear off twigs from these shrines for luck and happiness as they go around the circuit. Girls dressed in regional costumes or wearing their first communion dresses (which look like white wedding dresses) scatter rose and other flower petals on the streets. These petals are for Christ, who is believed by Catholics to walk the streets with the people during the processions. Young boys also wear traditional costumes and they ring a small bell while they walk through the streets in the procession. Throughout the festival the Priest walks around under some sort of umbrella held up by four men from the village or town.
Pâques, origines et coutumes
Pâques est une fête religieuse chrétienne commémorant la résurrection de JésusChrist, le troisième jour après sa crucifixion le vendredi saint. C'est le jour le plus saint du calendrier chrétien. Il marque la fin du jeûne du Carême. En France, le lundi de Pâques est férié depuis la loi du mars 1886. Après le 1er concile de Nicée en 325, il fut décidé que le calcul de la date de Pâques se ferait selon une règle fixe. Ainsi, Pâques est célébrée le dimanche après le 14ème jour du premier mois lunaire du printemps. Donc le dimanche après la première pleine lune advenant pendant ou après l'équinoxe du printemps. Le calcul de la date de Pâques est assez complexe et connu sous le nom de Comput. Pâques est une fête dite "d'obligation" dans l'Eglise
1 Mai La fête du travail
Origine : Le 1 mai 1886, la pression syndicale permet à environ 200.000 travailleurs
américains d'obtenir la journée de 8 heures . Le souvenir de cette journée amène les Européens , quelques années plus tard, à instituer la fête du travail. Pour la fête du travail, nous offrons du muguet.
These researches have been made and written by the pupils of the classe 2G helped by their teachers Giovanna Muolo Colonna. The tests have been translated in English by the pupils helped by the teacher Valerio Geramo and sent by e-mail to European friends. Other works have been sent in French by the teacher Maria Assunta Ostuni and in German by the teacher Geramo