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A Celebration of Italian Holidays

Anyone who's studied in the United States knows that Fall Break is, for most of us, the biggest anticipation of the fall semester. Fall Break is almost like a new leaf falling into your lap. It brings rejuvenation and a breath of fresh air that every college student desperately needs. Such is the case for me. The moment I left Dr. Longacre's ENGL 493 "Italian Cinema" class that Tuesday, I immediately began my journey of sweet, sweet relaxation and continued the spiral into my Stranger Things obsession.


While classmates made plans to go to Pompeii, Naples and even Paris, there were a few of us that decided to stay and relax at home and discover even more about Siena and the Sienese people. By staying in Siena, my friend, Alexa, and I got the chance to participate in two holidays, Halloween and All Saint's Day, and see how they were celebrated differently between the Sienese people and people back home.


It should be known that Italy is a fiercely catholic country. Siena especially is catholic, since even its contrade, or districts, have their own patron saints that they celebrate and pay respects to. This is why I didn't have hardly any expectations for Halloween, since Halloween is a pagan holiday. For the majority of the day that Thursday, I was right. Normal people hurried through the streets, going about their usual business like it was any other day. Shops showed off cute little plastic pumpkin trick-or-treat baskets and halloween decorations, but no building was decorated and no other signs of the holiday could be found.


Later that evening, though, we began to find more and more traces of the pagan holiday. Fliers on buildings gave information for parties that all began late in the night, and bars began to show their halloween spirit with bartenders showing off painted faces, cat ears and witch's hats. Still, though, there was no sign of families trick-or-treating and only young adults seemed to be taking full advantage of the holiday within the bars. Alexa and I managed to find our way to one bar that seemed to be the life of Siena that night.


College students from all over the city seemed to be packed tight into the small corner of the street. After we managed to fight our way up to the second floor for curiosity, which proved to be even more a struggle as the room appeared to be bursting at the seams, we were given cute little witch's hats and shown what a Sienese halloween was to the college generation. It was fun, but we didn't stay long. We eventually decided to make our way back to our little apartment and made snacks as we laughed and watched YouTube.

Here's what most soul cakes look like.

The next day, however, it was evident there was a holiday to be celebrated. All Saint's Day, as Alexa and I had been warned before fall break, was a rather popular Italian national holiday. Busses and Trains ran on different times, shops were closed, and churches were opened for their members to celebrate their saints. In the bakeries and shops that were open, soul cakes (small cakes that are made to commemorate the dead) could be found in bulk. Everyone seemed to participate in this holiday, and celebrations went well into the night. It was interesting to participate in this holiday and learn more about it, as not many people back home in the small community of Martin, Tennessee know about it most likely.


Overall, I really enjoyed my laid back fall holiday in Siena. While most people would love to go off and see the sights at bigger, more interesting places, I think it was really rewarding for me to be able to see the Sienese people in action as they lived their daily lives free from tourists and distractions.

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