Easter in Italy is generally much less commercialized than in the United States, but there is one tradition that recalls the Easters I knew growing up:
L’uova di Pasqua. The Italian Easter Egg.
As you can tell from the photo, these are not those little bite-sized, even two or three bite-sized eggs you’re using to seeing. These are hollow and range in size from palm of your hand to ginormous (think: wrap your arms around it to carry it).
I bought some yesterday just to show you what an egg looks like wrapped and unwrapped:
Then since it was open, well, we had to smash it, because the eggs usually have a “sorpresa” (surprise) inside. Depending on how much you paid for your uova di Pasqua, your surprise could be a dinky little toy or something more substantial, but still a toy nonetheless.
Having spent a whopping €1,50 ($2) on each one of these, we got dinky. And here’s P putting the stickers on the pathetic plastic car:
Stylin’ when it’s done, though, isn’t it? “Collect them all!” says the insert.
And in case you’re wondering, there’s no Easter Bunny and definitely no marshmallow stuff or jelly beans. Thank goodness for my mom! I love jelly beans, and now so does P.
Buona Pasqua to those who are celebrating!
Comments