ITALIANSUPERFOODSTRADITIONS

By Simone

CHOCOLATEThe Turin - chocolate combination was born in 1560 , when the King Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia tributed the city while serving a symbolic cup of chocolate . today Turin is the capital of chocolate. Not surprisingly, the famous Nutella was born in the city of Piedmont . At Easter the greatest chocolate confectionary industries produce the chocolate eggs .In every village in Italy, every supermarket, shop window and market stall will have a huge variety of chocolate eggs in the days leading up to Easter Sunday.They range from the tiny, solid milk chocolate to the massive, showy hollowed out eggs containing sometimes quite elaborate gifts. All of them will be wrapped in foil or, more commonly, cellophane; most will have at least decorative ribbon, often massive bows.

EGGS. Easter in Italy is above all a religious

celebration, and Easter egg tradition reflects that. Easter traditions in Italy originally coloured eggs red. The story goes that following the death of Christ on Good Friday Mary Magdalen travelled to Italy to spread the word of the resurrection.In an audience with a sceptical Emperor Tiberius Caesar, an egg she had taken as a gift miraculously turned red, symbolising the blood of Christ.

EGGS.

The blessing of eggs is a deeply felt tradition in some towns of Italy ,and takes place in this way : the priests go from house to house to take the eggs to be blessed, and many believers go themselves to the first Mass , with a plate full of boiled eggs wrapped in a tea-cloth or inside a basket .

Lentils are the most widespread traditions throughout Italy , because they have great nutritional value.

It’s a tradition to eat them at New Year lunch because they are very similar in form to the money so they are associated with these ; eating so it means a full year of abundance , money, economic rewards .

LENTILS

OLIVESThe olive tree is a plant that is still present in the traditions and culture of peoples . Since ancient times it has been a symbol of peace and prosperity and was the object of worship by the Greeks , Romans and Jews. Palm Sunday is a Christian feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter and commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On this day worship services include a procession of the faithful carrying palms and small branches of olive, representing the palm branches the crowd scattered in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. The priest blesses palm fronds and olives outside the church building while the solemn procession taking place.Then people bring home the olive branches and palm blessed , to keep as a symbol of peace , giving them to relatives and friends too. In some regions the head of the family uses a small olive branch , dipped in holy water during the Easter Vigil , to bless the table prepared at Easter day.

The pomegranate is a symbol of fidelity and fecundity, so the tradition suggests to eat it the last night of the year , maybe with our partner , boyfriend or husband because is a symbol of devotion and prosperity.

From the red colour of pomegranate seeds comes the custom of putting on the underwear of this colour on December 31st , to have love and luck during the New Year. But remember: you must to have it as a gift !

POMEGRANATE