There is no doubt whatsoever that tomorrow, I Morti [the Day of the Dead] is a festa in Sicily but no one is quite sure about today: schools and offices have been closed, as have chemists, whilst most shops, though not all supermarkets, have been open. Raffaele the hairdresser has been open as normal today but will close at 2pm tomorrow - he usually stays open through the siesta hours on Fridays and Saturdays - and my local supermarket will be open as normal tomorrow.
However, a student who came for a private English lesson this afternoon was in no doubt that today is a festa, although she is working, and brought along this tray of cannoli and sfinci [sweet fritters]. Therefore I have declared it a festa too. Auguri!
Yes, All Souls' Day, my family church usually reads out the name of my father who died five years ago.
ReplyDeleteGreat Day - day of the dead. Should be more of it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a name for it!
ReplyDeleteIl Morti...
Oh, Italian is such a resonant tongue...
Hi, Ellee. I know you still miss your Dad and hope the reading out of his name helps a little.
ReplyDeleteHi, James. Hmmm....
Hi, Crusshed. Yes, it is, isn't it? Yet it's quite a jovial festival.
So i morti is "all souls' day" equivalent?
ReplyDeleteI've heard repeatedly that Bonfire Night LONG predated Guy Fawkes... the ancient British festival of lights... in fact "bonfire" stands for "bone fire"... as in the bones of human sacrifice!
I'm not sure it's even coincidence that bonfire night and Divali the Hindu "festival of lights" so very often coincide...
After all, we are all "Indo-Europeans" as the saying goes...
Auguri WL! Have you ever visited the catacombs in Palermo? One of the mosy chilling places I've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteYes, a creepy time all round.
ReplyDeleteHi, Gleds. Yes - I Morti, literally "The Dead" = All souls' Day. I didn't know that about bonfire / bone fire. We are certainly all Indo-Europeans linguistically. Hi, WW. Yes, I found it very scary! I took schoolkids there. They, of course, thought it was great! Hi, Ellee. Yes, I find Hallowe'en scary!
ReplyDeleteI always thought All Saints'Day was the more important feast but I suppose it varies depending on the locale.
ReplyDeleteHi, jmb. Definitely All Souls' here but people visit the cemetery on both days.
ReplyDelete