All of us at CCI were missing home and our families during this past holiday weekend. Nevertheless, we enjoyed each other’s company and had lots to see and do.
Easter is the most important annual Christian festival in Italy. The people of Lanciano hold a deep faith and long held traditions.
On Thursday, our Cooking Club members made cinnamon rolls in lieu of the traditional hot cross buns which were then served the next day to the students.
The congregations of the churches in Lanciano create displays marking the Easter season in their sanctuaries that are very elaborate.
On Thursday evening, there is a holy procession through the town marking the night of Jesus’ Last Supper and his arrest by the authorities. This is a procession of men wearing what can only be described as black medieval hooded gowns who flank one man similarly dressed carrying a cross. It appears that this procession has been conducted for the last 400 hundred of years in Lanciano. Along the route through the old section of town, the streetlights are turned off. Light is provided by oil lamps installed on the walls solely for this purpose. Many of the townspeople watch the procession which leads to large crowds afterwards!
We started the day at CCI on Friday with a chocolate Easter egg hunt in the school. The prize was a large chocolate Easter egg given to the person or persons who collected the most eggs. As the hunt evolved, strategies emerged as students sought out alliances in order to win the coveted egg. The winning team gathered 91 eggs beating their nearest rivals by 20 eggs. Needless to say, it took awhile for the students to settle down to classes!
We scheduled a half day of classes in order to have a hike in the nearby Bocca Di Valle for the afternoon. Hiking in the mountains is a tradition for many of the people in Abruzzo. Fortunately, we have been enjoying warm weather here and as one can see from the photos, spring has certainly arrived.
The end of the walk came after a long climb. (Even Toby, our dog enjoyed it!) We were rewarded with the view of a lovely waterfall. Some of the braver students ventured to have a dip in the icy waters.
On Friday evening, a second procession occurs this time involving children women and men. This procession is sombre as well as groups of individuals carry platforms that depict what happened to Christ in His last hours.
One group of 16 students held a 24 Hour Famine for the period from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. The watched movies, played games and just enjoyed each other’s company in the school building for that period. Funds raised are going to the relief fund in Japan.
On Sunday, Lanciano commemorated the resurrection of Jesus in their services and through small processions that ended at the Basilica. Here icons of John the Baptist, Jesus and Mary were reunited and placed back in the sanctuary.
We held a lovely Easter Dinner of turkey, roast beef, lasagna prepared by the Allegria staff as well as some traditional Italian rice dishes prepared by Mrs. D’Alessandro. The traditional Italian desserts were complemented by cheesecake made by Mrs. Irons Murray and pavlova made by Mrs. Rutherford.
For Italians, Easter Monday is big holiday during which families visit relatives, go to the beach or have picnics in the countryside or in the mountains. We held classes in the morning and spent the afternoon at a beach near Casal Bordino. It was a cool day and not exactly beach weather; but as the kids said, it was better than being in class!
