There is not only Halloween to celebrate in this period of the year! If you booked a luxury villa in Sicily recently, you will be able to know a traditional Christian feast and how Sicilians celebrate it: we are dealing with Festa dei Morti, translated: Dead persons’ feast.
Yes, the name doesn’t bode well, but it’s not as you probably imagine. Despite the argument, this event is not a sad one; on the contrary, it is a way to remember loved ones in serenity, and at the same time, a way to teach the children to not be afraid of death.
The feast is celebrated on November the 2nd and dates back to the X century. The legend said that, in the past, dead people visited their relatives and left a gift for the children during the night before.
Today, parents buy the gifts and tell their kids that dead relatives gave away and hid them, so children have to search throughout the house to find those presents; the perfect way to have fun and teach the children not to be afraid of their death. After this sort of “treasure hunt”, the traditional next step is to go to the cemetery and visit their loved ones.
During this day, around Sicily, you will be able to find many village festivals with music, colours and, of course, a lot of typical Sicilian food. In this period, Sicilians used to eat any type of traditional sweets like Frutta Martorana, Pupi di Zucchero, Ossa dei Morti, Canestro and many other ones. If you prefer salted food, but you don’t want to betray the traditions, you can taste the Muffoletta, a typical soft bread seasoned with Sicilian oil, tomatoes and typical cheese: simple but very tasty.
Palermo celebrates the Festa dei Morti with a traditional festival, “Notte di Zucchero”, suitable for adults and children, with numerous events and workshops (31 Oct – 2 Nov 2021).
