May Day
May 1 annually

After a long and gray winter Italians are ready to celebrate the fertility of the earth and the forthcoming good weather. All over Italy the arrival of spring is celebrated by May Day festivals, which stem from ancient rituals. The ancient Romans worshipped Flora, the goddess of springtime and harvest, and this pagan celebration has evolved through time. Flora's festival, or Floralia, was celebrated from April 23 until May 3 and it was a time of sexual and moral license. Flora was represented by a statue draped with garlands that was carried around in the streets, and there was drinking, nude dancing, and the singing of lewd songs. The month of May got its name from Maia, the goddess of the Maytime festivals, and the Romans sacrificed a pregnant pig in her honor. During the festival Romans wore colorful clothing instead of their customary white, and hares and goats, both symbols of fertility were let loose in the gardens as protectors of Flora. The Church did not approve of these pagan festivities, so they eventually replaced Maia with the Virgin Mary. Authorities have long tried to quash the unsavory aspects of May Day, assigning it the significance of Labor Day to further expel the heathen celebration. Saint Joseph was named the saint of the laborers, and parades of workers carrying their tools were meant to fill the streets.

All over the country on May 1st, ribbons and lemons are tied around flowering branches and male the female trees are brought to the piazzas to be "married." The festivities and rituals vary by region and even by town. In Teramo, Abruzzo, the specialty food is le sette virtu' (the seven virtues), which is a soup made to celebrate the meeting of the seasons. Leftovers from the pantry such as seven types of leftover dried pasta, seven types of dried beans, and stock from seven types of preserved parts of the pig represent the passing of winter. All of those ingredients are combined with seven kinds of fresh vegetables and the same number of fresh herbs, which represent the coming of spring and summer. The number seven is used because it is the number of the cardinal virtues and they glorify the thriftiness of the housewives who waste nothing. In Friuli and Piedmont a frittata primaverile verde alle sette erbe (seven herb spring omelette) is eaten on May Day. The seven herbs are sage, parsley, thyme, basil, mint, marjoram, and amarella, a bitter herb. Maypoles in Italy are decorated with prosciutto, mortadella, cheeses, and money hanging from the ring at the crown at the top of the pole. The pole is greased with lard and the object is to climb to the top to get to the prize. Another May Day ritual in Piedmont is for young girls to dress up and parade through the villages. One is chosen to be the bride of May who gets to carry the maggio, which is a green branch decorated with ribbons, fresh fruit, and lemons. All over Italy flowers are placed in and around places of worship and young men are known to serenade their sweethearts.

Calendimaggio (Walpurgis Night) is the eve of May Day and it was originally celebrated by the Celts. By their calendar it was the beginning of summer and the day they took their flocks out to graze for six months. The coming of the summer was celebrated by dances, banquets, starting bonfires on top of hills to bring luck and protection, and they even had a primitive form of a maypole. Calendimaggio is celebrated in Assisi with a medieval procession and torchlight parade and the town is decorated with silken banners. There are games and a competition of the singing of love songs between the upper and lower sections of town. The traditional dish for the festival is porchetta, which is roast suckling pig.

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