How to Celebrate an Italian Easter

Easter in Italy is a day of anticipation and excitement as children anxiously await the food and festivities. Tables, overflowing with traditional fare, signal a time of celebration. Lasting from Good Friday through the following Monday, young and old alike, celebrate an Italian Easter. You can create the same traditions in your own home.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Serve eggs. Representing the resurrection of Christ from his tomb, the egg plays a major role in Italian Easter celebrations. They nestle deeply into braided breads before baking and children search for a hollow chocolate egg with a toy inside.
2. Include lamb on the menu. Another tradition in Italy, lamb is also a common sight on Easter tables across the country. Serving lamb represents the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Stuffed pizza and artichokes, fried in olive oil, are also traditional Easter food.
3. Travel at Easter time in Italy. Not limited to staying at home, Italians love to travel to see relatives or take vacations at this special time of year. Many will take the opportunity to visit friends, while others will go skiing or celebrate by heading to the sea. Italian cities fill with tourists at Easter.
4. Take part in a traditional parade symbolizing Christ carrying the cross to Calgary. Easter festivities start on a somber note with similar parades all over the country, but as soon as they're over, a three-day celebration begins in earnest.
5. Attend the Lo Scoppio del Duomo early Easter morning. Perhaps the most popular Easter tradition in the world, denoting the return of Paxxino de' Pazzi, a Crusader from the Middle Ages, it is celebrated with an ancient carousel made in the twelfth century and a massive fireworks display. Pious Catholics travel from all over the world to Italy to attend.