Even the artisans in their work obeyed with scrupulous meticulousness certain norms that were handed down from father to son. Today, in our recurring holidays, it is still possible to discern certain characteristic aspects and popular traditions. At Christmas, Easter, and at the festival of S. Anthony, which is the most heartfelt among the people of Nicastro, certain usages that by now are rooted in our people inevitably repeat themselves. For example, it was once inconceivable to have a Christmas without “grispelle” (fritters of leavened dough), or an Easter without “cuzzupi” (sweets in various shapes, decorated with hard boiled eggs). These are customs that are preserved even today. On Palm Sunday, besides the customary olive branch, there was also the blessing of the “palme,” which were palm leaves plaited together in different ways and in different sizes, to offer friends and colleagues---a tradition that still survives.

Plaited palms.
S. Gargano private collection

Among other customs that are still in use is the offering of sprouting grain at grave sites on Holy Thursday. At the festival of the “Santa Croce” (Holy Cross), which is celebrated locally each year in the first three days of May, the construction of a temporary outdoor altar in the middle of the street is a tradition that is weakening and today remains a prerogative only of the historic center of town. The large cross on the altar is festooned with ornaments of different colors that are illuminated--such as “panarialli” little covered baskets of colored tissue with little oil lamps inside

The little altar of the Holy Cross.
Stancati private collection

With evolving times and technical progress, many habits and customs have been lost that were rooted over generations and used to play a part in the daily life of a rural farming society that was bound within the limits of a specific territory. Therefore it is important and urgent that we salvage them, through whatever degree in this day and age that it may still be possible to challenge their demolition and thereby convey a preserved heritage to future generations, so they can understand our cultural identity.