Pasqua con chi vuoi

One thing living in Italy does over and over is keep me on my toes. The language and its dialects, the customs, the food, the daily life lived—all things greatly or subtly different from my life in the USA.

Douse a plate of sliced oranges with olive oil? Commonly done.

Remembering that April 1 (April Fools’ Day) is Il pesce d’aprile (the fish of April). I’ll go with that.

Learning a rhyme such as Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi, meaning spend Christmas with your family, but Easter with whomever you like (and no Easter bunny here but yes to eggs!). Sounds good.

And April 1st was La Pasquetta, or Il lunedì dell’Angelo, Monday of the Angel (Easter Monday in the USA). A national holiday (of course), where the rule is to throw a big picnic (pronounced peek-neek in Italian). I’m there.

I’ve always loved the expansiveness that happens throughout the day—never a dull moment!

Fun Fact: Italy is still the largest consumer of olive oil, but the USA is close behind. However, in 2023, the 25 million households in Italy consumed 17 liters of olive oil (34 Bramasole Olive Oil-size bottles). The 125 million households in the USA consumed only 3 liters of olive oil (6 Bramasole Olive Oil-size bottles).