“Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi.” (“Christmas with your family, Easter with whomever you like.”)
So goes the saying that Italians like to invoke on Easter weekend and, specifically, on Easter Monday or Pasquetta (literally: “Little Easter”).
A national holiday, nearly everything shuts down and Italians go fuori porta (“out the door” or, figuratively, “out of town”) with friends, usually to the countryside for a picnic or cook-out. A holiday that celebrates spring, Pasquetta is even, at times, more revered than Easter. Spending time with friends in the warm weather and eating oneself into a stupor– it’s e
asy to see why it’s a favorite.
Buona Pasqua e Buona Pasquetta!
Special thanks to Gisella Faggi for writing this post.