Christmas in Valencia Spain

For those of us born and raised in northern climes, celebrating Christmas without a thick layer of snow on the ground is a bit disheartening. Santa and his reindeer, sleigh and poofy red costume would look a little ridiculous cruising around Palermo. But it’s impossible to deny that Christmas in Sicily is every bit the festive season that we enjoy back home.

Palermo is usually an indifferent, hectic place, where you’re more likely to get a shoulder-check than a friendly smile from people on the sidewalks. But that changes during Christmas. This weekend, we’ve been randomly greeted from strangers with a “Buon Natale”, or even an attempt at “Merry Christmas”. Streets are decorated with lights, storefronts with trees, and a joyful energy is palpable in the markets and shops.

December 24th is a day of feasting in Sicily, when families gather around tables even more over-flowing with food than normal. Children are allowed to rip open presents after the Christmas Eve dinner, avoiding the sleepless night of aching anticipation that we unlucky Americans have to endure. Christmas Day is quiet; most people use the daylight hours for a walk around town, to meet up with neighbors and friends, before retiring with their families to home. The 26th is a national holiday in Italy, and everything stays closed until the 27th, when normal life resumes again.

Kids only have to wait a few more days for their next treat. Santa Claus has ceded dominion over Sicily to La Befana: an ugly witch who flies on a broom and climbs through chimneys to deliver candy to good children, and coal to the brats. According to legend, she was a housekeeper near Bethlehem who went mad with grief after losing her only child. When Jesus was born, she recognized his goodness and gifted him with armfuls of candy.

A variety of dishes are prepared and eaten during the holidays, but one dessert which is present on every Sicilian table is the buccellato. A sweet, circular cake filled with raisins, figs, orange peel, pumpkin and almonds, the buccellato is glazed, powdered and topped with candied fruits. Delicious. You can find them in every bakery in the city.

So, although I’m nostalgic for snowball fights on Christmas Day and leaving cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve, I can get on board with the Sicilian celebration. I especially like the idea an ugly witch breaking into houses. A definite improvement over fat, old Santa Claus. The best traditions are those which terrify children, rather than coddle to them.

- Christmas Gift Ideas

Celebrating Santa Lucia in Sweden

Saint Lucy was a 4th century Sicilian martyr, born and executed in Syracuse. She’s thought to be responsible for ending a famine 1582, and Sicilians honor her feast day on December 13th by abstaining from bread.

Lucia was a Christian noblewoman of Syracuse who was denounced to the Greek authorities after refusing to marry her pagan suitor. Being a Christian back in the 4th century wasn’t as fun as it is nowadays. Try going back to the year 304, when being denounced as a Christian meant that authorities could rip your freaking eyes out, then stab you in the throat. Like they did to Santa Lucia.

In 1582, a terrible famine swept Sicily. In Syracuse, starving people prayed fervently to Santa Lucia for salvation and, lo, into the harbor did sail a boat mightily flush with wheat. The famished masses were so desperate that they wouldn’t even wait to make bread, and instead boiled the wheat for immediate consumption. They thanked Santa Lucia as their savior (instead of, say, the captain of the wheat-carrying boat) and, ever since, Sicilians have eaten a dish made of boiled wheat called cuccia on December 13th.

Cuccia has evolved from simple boiled wheat, and can now be eaten with chickpeas and fava beans, or made into a dessert with ricotta. We bought some of the ricotta cuccia; the boiled wheat was elaborated with berries, candied fruits and chocolate pieces, and was extremely sweet. When we went for lunch, the restaurant had a special menu for Santa Lucia with all the dishes noticeably lacking bread.

There’s just one way to make cuccia (boil wheat), but it can be made into a variety of dishes. Siclian Cooking Plus has a nice overview of the different recipes, if you’re interested. It’s a nice dish, but I think indulging in it just once a year sounds about right.

- Hotels in Sicily

The beginning of November has traditionally been a time for remembering the dead in Italy. A mix of somber religious reflection, modern costume parties and bittersweet remembrances of deceased family members, the Italian celebrations have roots which stretch back centuries, but which have also been affected by outside influence, particularly American.

Ognissanti, or All Saints’ Day, falls on November 1st, and is a national holiday in Italy. The festival has a history stretching back to the 7th century, and is a time to honor all the world’s saints, those known and unknown. This is a strictly religious day, where the main celebrations are found in churches. That’s probably fine for most younger people, who are likely working off hangovers. All Saints’ Day is also known as All Hallows’ Day, which makes the 31st of October All Hallows’ Eve … or Halloween.

Though it’s not an Italian tradition in any sense, Halloween has become a popular holiday here. Walking home on the night of the 31st, I spotted a few zombies, witches, pirates and monkeys roaming the streets of Palermo, on their way to parties. This is a rather new tradition borrowed mostly from American culture. As far as I saw, there was no trick-or-treating, but sweets play a central role later in the week.

On the night of the 1st, Sicilian parents and grandparents prepare, or (more likely in this day and age) buy martorana for the kiddies. Martorana is colorful, sweet marzipan, formed into the shapes of fruits and animals, which children receive on November 2nd, or All Souls’ Day. Lucky kids might also get toys. The idea is that the ghosts of deceased family members steal into the home and hide the gifts for their descendants. Around this time of year, you can find martorana in almost every bakery in Sicily.

I went out and bought us some martorana today. Although it was more an insatiable sweet tooth than supernatural suggestions from floating spirits that encouraged the purchase, I found myself thinking about my dead grandparents while munching them. It was an opportunity to reflect on their memory, which is something I don’t do nearly enough of. We don’t really have a “Day of the Dead” in the States or in Germany. With so many worthless holidays like Columbus Day and Sweetest Day, that seems like a pretty tragic oversight.

- Buy Marzipan Online