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Molise, Italy | | Date: Centuries-old | | Notes: As everyone knows prior to World War II many individuals, in particular, women, went to Mass on Good Friday and other major Catholic Feast days. What is not as well known is that some churches (if not all) charged admission to go to Mass on a popular Catholic feast day like Good Friday, Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday. According to my aunt, Rosina Melfi, churches in the town of Casacalenda, Molise charged 2 soldi for the right to get a seat in a church on Good Friday (or some other feast day). If people wanted a seat in a church (at that time many churches still had chairs rather than benches) they had to pay up front 2 "soldi" per chair (P.S. The Italian word, "soldi," nowadays is translated as money, but in the 1930s the word as used in the Molise countryside referred to loose change -- in particular pennies). There were some households in town (including at my maternal grandmother's) that could not afford to pay for a seat, so they simply had to forgo going to church. Obviously, those individuals who couldn't fork up 2 "soldi" (about 2 pennies) to go to Mass on Good Friday, wouldn't have had the extra cash to pay for the festive foods. Well, that's not exactly accurate. At that time, those who made their living off the land, did have a fair amount of food -- food that they themselves grew like wheat and corn flour. However, few (if any) grew sugar canes or kept bees, so sugar and honey had to be bought. The poorest of the poor had very little cash, so what North Americans now think as essential foods as part of the Easter celebrations, would not have been made for obvious reasons.... | Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #484034
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Italy | | Date: Centuries-old | Notes: MAJOR FEAST DAYS -- Italy (National)
JANUARY
Capao D'Anno/ New Year's Day
La Vigilia Delll' Epifania, Epiphany Eve, January 5
Epifania, Epiphany, January 6th
Feast day of San Antonio Abate, January 17th
Carnevale, Carnival, January 17th to Ash Wednesday (40 days before Easter (Date changes)
FEBRUARY
Santa Agata, Saint Agatha, Feb. 3-5
Carnevale, Carnival, 40 days before Easter (Date changes)
MARCH
San Giovanni Giuseppe della Croce, St. John-Joseph of The Cross, March 5
Madonna di Costantinopol, March 8th
San Giuseppe, Saint St. Joseph, March 19th
MARCH OR APRIL
Domenica Delle Palme, Palm Sunday
Giovedi Santo, Holy Thursday
Venerdi Santo, Holy Friday
Sabato Santo, Holy Saturday
La Pasqua, Easter
APRIL
Madonna della Stella, April 22
St. George, April 23
Saint Leo, April 30th
MAY
San Nicola, Saint Nicholas, May 7-8
Madonna del Monte, May 20
San Pardo, Saint Pardo, May 25th-27
Corpus Domini, Corpus Christi, Thursday following Trinity Sunday [Date changes]
JUNE
St. Anthony of Padua, June 13
St. John the Baptist, June 24
St. Peter and St. Paul, June 29
JULY
St. Rosalia, July 15
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16
San Basso, July 26th
Santa Anna di Cantalupo
San Vittoriano, last Sunday in July
AUGUST
Saint Basso, August 3
Madonna of the Snow, August 12
SEPTEMBER
Saint Rosalia, September 4
Feast in honor of the Sacred Heart, Sept. 16
La Madonna della Difesa, last Sunday in Sept. [in Molise, in Montreal, Canada the day is celebrated the 3rd Sunday in August]
San Gennaro, September 19th
OCTOBER
Saint Teresa, October 15
NOVEMBER
La Festa dei Morti, All Souls' Day or Feast Day of the Dead, Nov. 2
2nd Feast of Madonna di Costantinopoli, Nov. 8
San Trifone, Saint Trifone Nov. 10
St. Frances Cabrini, Nov. 13
St. Martin, November 11
DECEMBER
San Nicole, Saint Nicolas, Dec. 6
Santa Lucia, St. Lucy, Dec. 13
La Vigilia, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th
Natale, Christmas Day, Dec. 25th
Santo Stefano, St. Stephen, Dec. 26
*Dates of actual celebrations for the Feast Days may vary from region to region in Italy, as they do in North America
| Contributed by: Image courtesy of The New York Public Library, Digital Gallery #1580623
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