Be there no question - early spring is by far the best time to discover Sicily, and there is no better moment to explore the island, its people and their ways that during the holiday of Easter. To Christians all over the world the holiday of Easter is considered the most holy day in the year and in no place is this day taken more seriously than on the island of Sicily.

Preparations for the celebration of the holiday will start three weeks before that date, when in every city and burg on the island the exterior of every church is treated to a fresh coat of paint, and when the statues of all of the saints are dusted and dressed in special robes appropriate for the season. One week before the holiday every restaurant on the island closes for one or two days so that the owners can polish their woodwork and brass clean their kitchens, and finally four days before Easter, every house on the island is given a thorough cleaning. During this time of preparation virtually every man, woman and child, including even the members of the poorest families, will also buy a new pair of shoes. The shoes will be worn for the first time on Easter Sunday.

Few Sicilians realize that the many of the traditions of the holiday are taken directly from springtime pagan festivals that were observed on the island as early as the 7th century B.C. During those days, members of the cult of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, tried to guarantee the richness of the forthcoming grain harvest by undergoing a fast, sitting through an all-night vigil and taking a communion of barley water from a sacred goblet.

Today, in similar fashion, devout Sicilians, nearly all of whom belong to the Roman Catholic Church, abstain from eating meat during the forty days preceding Easter. Communion is taken on the day before Easter, which always falls on a Sunday and, on Saturday night, in hundreds of baroque churches all around the island, the mass begin at ten in the evening. The mass ends a few minutes after midnight and then the people make their way home by candlelight, there to dine on a traditional holiday meal of farsumagru, a spicy rolled stuffed beef and cianfotta, a vegetable casserole.

Even though few people go to bed before two or three in the morning, it is considered traditional to rise before dawn on Easter Sunday. By six in the morning the men and boys leave the houses, first to go to church and then to gather at the local cafes to sit with their neighbors and gossip. The women and girls are not as free, however, and stay at home to prepare the second and more serious feast of the holiday. Even the women and girls are allowed to take a break from their labors at about eleven in the morning, however, when in every village and city on the island a series of long religious processions begins. Led by the priests, the parade consists of exquisitely carved Madonnas draped in silk and gold; statues of saints that are smothered in satin and velvet, all brilliantly colored and lit by a seemingly infinite number of candles. The whole event is smoky with incense and perfumed by jasmine. Even the smallest church has its band and, even though the music is often out of key it is always loud and adds to the joy of the occasion.

Before they return home it is absolutely necessary that every family visit their "patron", the senior Mafia member to whom they have pledged their loyalty. No business is discussed on Easter day, no favors asked, and no gifts exchanged. What is expected, however, is that each adult male will greet his patron "with deep respect", introducing each of the members of his family, and having at least a sip of the patron's homemade wine or grappa. Visitors to the island are often surprised to realize that in the spirit of the holiday, they too will often be invited to raise a glass or to share a meal. Although the Mafia has no interest in tourists, anyone receiving a glass of home made wine from any Sicilian will be wise to praise it, no matter how bad it may be.

For Recipes for a Traditional Sicilian Easter Meal, Click Here

© Daniel Rogov