Comenius Project 2013-2015

“The Heritage of Cultures and Traditions in Pluralistic

Society-Religious Traditions”

“Pitagora College”San Giovanni Rotondo Italy

Spain Meeting – Santiago de Compostela

May 1st

The labour day or labor day is a holiday celebrated on may 1 of each year that will highlight the commitment of the trade union movement and the achievements in the economic and social workes. Labor day is recognized in many nations of the world, but not in all.

• La festa ricorda le battaglie operaie, in particolare quelle volte alla conquista di un diritto ben preciso: l'orario di lavoro quotidiano fissato in otto ore (in Italia con il r.d.l. n. 692/1923). Tali battaglie portarono alla promulgazione di una legge che fu approvata nel1867[1] nell'Illinois (USA). La Prima Internazionale richiese poi che legislazioni simili fossero introdotte anche in Europa.

1 maggio

If you're in Rome on holiday and really love music and concerts,  don't miss this great event in the city. Since1990 the Italian trade unions CGIL, CISL and UIL have organized this big music event, the Concert of the 1st May, in St John in Lateran's Basilica  square.  Each year it attracts thousands of young people, tourists and music lovers from all over Italy and beyond. From morning until late at night, there are performances by Italian and foreign artists on stage

April 25 is officially one of the public holidays of the Italian Republic, chosen to commemorate the end of the German occupation in Italy, the fascist regime and the second word War, symbolically indicated to April 25, 1945. The date of April 25 was officially established in 1949 and was chosen by convention because it was the day of liberation by the partisans of the cities of Milan and Turin, but the war continued for a few more days, until the first week of May.

April 25th

June 2th

On 2 nd June, the Feast of the Italian Republic, the main Italian national holiday. It is celebrated to commemorate the birth of the Republic.On 2 nd and 3 rd June 1946 was held,in fact, the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage by which Italians were called to the polls to express their views on what from of government, monarchy or republic, to give the country, following the fall of Fascism.

August 15th

Ferragosto is an Italian and Sammarinese public holiday celebrated on 15 August. The term Ferragosto is derived from the Latin expression Feriae Augusti (Augustus' rest), which is a celebration introduced by the emperor Augustus in 18 BC. This was an addition to already extant ancient Roman festivals which celebrated the harvest and the end of a long period of intense agricultural labor. The ancient Ferragosto, in addition to obvious self-celebratory political purposes, had the purpose of linking the main August festivities to provide a longer period of rest, called Augustali, which was felt necessary after the hard labour of the previous weeks. The Catholic Church celebrates this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary— what they believe to be the actual physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorruptible body into Heaven.

December 8th

The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX on December 8,1854 with the bubble Ineffabilis Deus,which lays down as the Virgin Mary was preserved free from original sin from the first instant of her conception. The Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on december 8.

October 4th

Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: San Francesco d'Assisi; born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, but nicknamed Francesco("the Frenchman") by his father, was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Order of Friars Minor, the women’s Order of St. Clare. Saint Francis' feast day is observed on October 4. A secondary feast in honor of the stigmata received by St. Francis, celebrated on September 17, was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in 1585 .He is the Saint Patron of Italy.

January 27th

International Holocaust Remembrance Day,

It is an international memorial day on 27 January commemorating the victims of the Holocaust. It commemorates the genocide that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jews, 1 million Gypsies, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled people, and 9000 homosexual men by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.  On 27 January 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, was liberated by Soviet troops. In Italy there are a lot of celebrations to commemorate all the people died.

November 4th

National Unity and Armed Forces Day (Italy) - Celebrates Italy's victory over Austria-Hungary in 1918.

November 1° and 2°

Ognissanti (All Saints) is celebrated on 1st November, and the 2nd of November, commonly called "i Morti" in Italian, is the day dedicated to the dear ones who passed away. People start visiting the cemeteries already some days before, so that on the two festive days fresh flowers, also left on the old forgotten tombs, not visited any more for decades, give to the Italian cemeteries an explosion of colors. All Souls' Day (Commemoration of All Faithful Departedd) was officially placed on the date of November 2 in the tenth century A.D., practically merging with All Saints' Day,  Folk traditions include lighting on the window sills at sunset a "lumino" (red candle) and laying a table for the dear ones deceased who would come and visit and leave the children confetti and greenbeans to teach them that they were keeping an eye on them too (the tradition emphasized the importance of a connection between past and younger generations). Then on November 1st almost everywhere the first "caldarroste" (roasted chestnuts) of the season appeared for the enjoyment of young and old.

December 26th

St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian saint's day to commemorate Saint Stephen, celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church.St Stephen’s feast Day (Il giorno di Santo Stefano) is celebrated as a public holiday across Italy on December 26. It is the day after Christmas Day (Natale). In some places, St Stephen’s feast day is traditionally a day for many Italians to visit the Nativity scenes at the churches. Other events on St Stephen’s Day in different parts of Italy include markets, carnivals and festivals.St Stephen is believed to be the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death sometime around the year 33 CE. St  Stephen’s feast day was made a public holiday in Italy in 1947.

December 25th

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus ("Nativity"). It falls on December 25 for most of the Christian Churches. This is the festival more popularly felt among Christians. In Italy are closely linked to the feast of the nativity scene tradition of medieval origin, and the decoration of the Christmas tree, then spread from Northern Europe. The Italian word "Christmas" comes from the Latin Christian Christmas (m), for ellipses diem natālem Chiristi ("day of Christ's birth").

December 25th

On December 25th, or Christmas, is the day of celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Established in the fourth century. Christmas Day is celebrated as a major festival and public holiday in countries around the world, including many whose populations are mostly non-Christian.

Easter and Easter Monday

Easter Day in Italy is a national holiday that commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, as written in the Christian bible. The Easter date is set around the time of the March Equinox. Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as written in the New Testament of the Christian bible.Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Catholic and Eastern Christian cultures. Easter Monday is a national holiday in Italy that continues from Easter Sunday. Easter Monday, also known as La Pasquetta in Italian, is part of the Easter holiday celebrations that are celebrated across Italy. It is a popular time to take short breaks to the countryside with friends and/or family. Easter games include egg races. Many people also go on picnics at this time of the year. Easter Monday commemorates the risen Jesus’ meeting with his disciples on the day after he was resurrected, as mentioned in the bible. The Easter period is set around the time of the March Equinox. Italy is one of many other countries that celebrate Easter Monday.

January 1st

January 1 is the first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years).The preceding day is December 31 of the previous year. During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Catholic Church, many countries in western Europe moved the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals – 

Epiphany January 6th

The Epiphany has two different meanings and representations the first one is that religious and the other one is the pagan

meaning.Regarding the first one Epiphany is the manifestation of the

baby Jesus to the world. The second meaning is linked with the Befana distributingf

gifts as in this Italian rhyme:“the Befana comes by night with broken shoes , hat alla romana, viva viva la Befana ....”

The Magi were a group of characters who, guided by the star, they come from the East, probably the ancient Persia and were astrologer, to pay homage to the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem,

believed to be the King of the Jews, giving him gold, frankincense and myrrh.

March 11th

It is the day to commemorate all the victims of the terroristic attackAll around the world. In this day on March 11° in 2004 a train crashed because of a terroristic bomb attack.

It’s an important date to remember and celebrate in Italy because it’s the Anniversary of the Unification

of Italy.In 2011 there was great celebrations because of the

150 years of Italian Unification.

Students:-------

Teachers:

- Gravina Paquale- La Porta Filomena

- Rispoli Donato

Special guest

-Donatella Bisceglia