The Sepolcri

In Italy, Easter is a big deal. Last Thursday night, the day before Good Friday, was the Sepolcri, which is the celebration of the mystery of Eucarestia. The Eucarestia is the sacrament of the communion. It consists of decorations, mostly of beautiful flowers, on the alter which contains the bread for communion on Good Friday.

As part of the display were green wheat sprouts in little pots, representing the passage from the darkness of death to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. All the churches participate in decorating their alters and the people go from church to church to view these displays.
It is a great social event, especially in smaller cities, like Catanzaro, because you bump (literally) into people you know. There are so many people out walking the streets to the churches. It is unlike anything I have seen in the U.S. I was surprised at all the people that attend this religion based event. There were teenagers, parents with babies, and the elderly, all waiting in fast moving lines and constantly crowded near the entry doors.

Inside the churches are people sitting in the pews, and again in another line waiting to have a closer look at the displays at the alter. Because the event occurs at night it makes it seem more dramatic, it is also exciting and you can’t help but to join in in celebrating because the energy from all the people walking about. This event was a routine to everyone in Italy but to me, it was such a unique and special thing that I was happy to be apart of.

After the Sepolcri, we walked to, Gimmy’s friend, Teresa’s house for drinks and a pasta dinner. There were about 8 people there, all friends of Gimmy’s from when he was a young boy. They were so happy to see Sisi, they all held her and played games to make her smile. She is doing very well with other people now, even before we moved she started to let other people hold her for longer periods of time. Now, Sisi will sometimes stay with a “stranger” for as long as until she gets tired or hungry.