Holy Week
“Holy Week” is the week before Easter Sunday—a time when many important events take place in Umbria. On Palm Sunday, olive tree branches are blessed. And it’s not just one branch; people carry whole bunches down the street and to church. These blessed branches are kept in homes for the rest of the year.
The day after Maundy Thursday is Good Friday. Good Friday is a day of mourning for the death of Christ. In churches, Christians remember Jesus’ crucifixion, and the interior is often decorated in somber black tones.
In places like Bevagna—a small medieval village near Montefalco—during the evening religious procession, members of the clergy carry the cross through the streets where Jesus died. It’s dark in the village, and a whole group of people, lit by small candles, follows along. “The procession of the dead Christ” is a very interesting experience in Umbria. In many villages, it feels like you’re traveling back to the Middle Ages.
Places worth visiting during Holy Week include Assisi, Orvieto, Bevagna, and Gubbio.
Food and Easter
On Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, eggs and other foods are blessed in the churches. According to my neighbor, you can’t just throw away the shells of the blessed eggs—they must be burned, or else bad luck will follow. Italian mammas spend a lot of time in the kitchen. They prepare the traditional Easter meal, such as lamb, pasta alla Norcina, cheese bread “torta di Pasqua”, the Italian “Colomba” cake shaped like a dove, and chocolate Easter eggs! In every small town, at a local bakery or supermarket, you have plenty of choices for chocolate eggs. Some even weigh a kilo or more! Often, there’s a little surprise or gift inside the chocolate egg, which the kids love.
Easter Sunday is mainly a family day. People have breakfast together, go to church, and enjoy a very lavish lunch. The kids are thrilled with their chocolate eggs. What to do with all that chocolate afterwards is another story, as chocolate often remains on the menu for weeks…
Easter Monday
Monday is “Pasquetta”. Many Italians are not home on this day. It’s a day for a family outing or a picnic, for example, by Lake Trasimeno or at the Cascata delle Marmore.
Enjoy your visit to Umbria and have a wonderful Easter!
Definitely a big Catholic holiday. Do the kids get a visit from the Easter Bunny or is that only an American tradition?
The Easter bunny does not come by here. Though in Holland it does and I keep hiding eggs for my son to find. He still believes it’s the Easter bunny hiding the eggs, though at school non of his friends ever has a visit from the Easter bunny ! Saskia