Tuesday 4 March 2008

Easter Monday: "Pasquetta"

I love Easter Monday in Italy. After a day (Easter) spent at home with the family, with a long meal of many courses, "Pasquetta" (Easter Monday) is a day for gatherings and doing things with friends.

When I used to live at the Cinque Terre, about 25 years ago :-(, my Dad used to run the church choir and we had a heavy schedule of performances from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. So when Easter Monday came, it was a lovely day of "freedom" that we spent going off somewhere with many friends and families for a pic-nick.

This meant that everybody cooked something to share, like cakes and quiches, and we either walked to a sunny spot on the cliffs or we drove to the inland and found a lovely grass area where we could spend the day organising games and having a good lough. A guitar was never left behind so singing all sorts of traditional and pop songs was also part of the fun! Grandparents and grandchildren were joining in - no exclusions.

I must admit, I haven't done this for ages, but it is a lovely way to spend Pasquetta and many people still do so, going off with friends and organising relaxing trips to the countryside.

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