Step by step - getting to know our places

Slide1: 

All the work we have been doing allowed us a comparison between the two countries in order to focus our attention on their similarities. Both are wild and enchanting countries, the Mediterranean Sea washes their shores and the climate is very mild, its overgrown lands smell of the Mediterranean bushes. Greece , cradle of western civilization, has left on Sardinia a permanent footprint, its history, myths and legends link together.

Slide2: 

That is why we wanted to speak about our myths, legends and traditions which are handed down through many generations and all this will make visiting our countries more interesting. We found, selected and organized the material surfing on the Internet and reading specific books in the school library. We brainstormed our ideas and prepared PPt drafts to show each other. We decided what to write and chose the pictures to illustrate the ideas expressed in the text.

Slide4: 

Carnival is characterized by a general revelry everywhere. In both countries, it is the period which precedes the fasting of the Lent. It is celebrated with parades of floats made of paper pulp which proceed along the streets of the town playing songs and mocking national and international current affairs. When the parade ends they burn the King of Carnival. People are joyful and eat special pastries “currixionis frittus”, “zippole” and “currixionis de bentu”.

Slide5: 

Our Easter is characterized by the religious processions which take place during the Holy Week. They start on Holy Tuesday with the “Sette Misteri” procession: it tells Jesus’s Passion and Death and the Lady Of Sorrow; on Friday they perform Jesus’s funeral, a very suggestive procession. On Sunday we celebrate Jesus’s Resurrection with a procession in which Virgin Mary meets Risen Jesus. At Easter, mothers usually do “Coccoi de Pasqa”, for the children, it is sweet bread with a egg in the middle dyed with saffron. Very tasteful are also the “pardulas” made with fresh cheese or ricotta cheese that we have after lunch.

Slide6: 

Greek Easter is rich of traditions. It lasts a week called “Great Week”. It starts on Great Monday with the celebration of Christ ‘s passion, on Thursday we paint the eggs red. Red like Jesus’s blood, the egg symbol of a new life. On Friday we decorate the coffin of Jesus with flowers and take it along the streets. On Saturday we light candles and after the midnight mass, Jesus Christ’s resurrection, we break the fast having the “magjritsa” (Easter soup) and the red eggs. On Sunday we have roast lamb and celebrate transition of Jesus to heaven. In Greece we have so many and delicious cakes and pastries, but we do not usually have after a meal.

Slide7: 

On 28th April we celebrate “Sa Die de Sa Sardigna” (Sardinia day). It recalls the historical event when the Sardinian population rose against the Piedmont domination. On this day in the St. Remy bastion, in Cagliari, they perform the drama of that day. It is a public holiday on the island

Slide8: 

It is an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the working class. In Italy it is a national holiday and we celebrate Labor Day with parades and free concerts. On 1st May we start celebrations of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We will not forget to mention the important town festival of “Saint Efisio” which takes place in Cagliari. It started in1657 when the inhabitants of the town asked the saint to save them from the bubonic plague. In Greece it is a national labor holiday celebrated with parades and other celebrations. On this day they also have the “Feast of Flowers” which has its acient origins in the festivals of the goddess Demeter.

Slide9: 

In Patras the 1st May is celebrated with a feast on the evening of 30th April first, which takes place at Psila Alonia square, where florists sell flowers and hundreds of people buy them for their beloved ones. The following day people take to the fields and pick up wild flowers and make wreaths with them in order to decorate their houses. Also it is considered a labourers’ feast and people demonstrate for their rights, in the streets and a central square.

Slide10: 

In August in Iglesias we have two important dates: 13th and 15th. On 13th August takes place the Medieval parade with men and women wearing traditional costumes which date back to the medieval period. After the parade there is a crossbow competition. On 15th August takes place the procession in honour of our Blessed Virgin Mary, called “Vergine Dormiente” (Dormant Virgin”) on this day from the Greek-Byzantine tradition. In the Iglesias Statuto, “Breve di Villa di Chiesa”, it was called feast of “Sancta Maria del Mezo di Gosto” and its origin dates back to the pagan festivity in honour of the god Consus protector of grains. With the arrival of Christianity this pagan festivity was replaced with the Virgin Mary worship. The guilds which represent the arts and trades and the four city quarters take part in the procession. They proceed along the streets of the town carrying the heavy “Candelieri” (candle holders) decorated with coloured ribbons and the symbol of each group. Both celebrations call forth a lot of tourists.

Slide11: 

In Greece the 15th of August is also a big event. It is a public holiday and we celebrate our Virgin Mary. Throughout Greece in churches and monasteries worshippers follow the procession and faithfully pray to our Madonna, which we believe will stand on our side for any problems we might have. The biggest procession takes place on the island of Tinos, where the miraculous icon – believed to have been painted by the Evangelist Marcos – is found.

Slide12: 

In October in our town take place a lot of folk, cultural and religious celebrations in honour of our “Madonna del Buon Cammino”. This cult dates back to 1700.

Slide13: 

St. Andrew is the patron Saint of Patras. It was here that Apostle Andreas was crucified and to the memory of his sacrifice our town still commemorates his crucifixion on 30th November. There are two churches on the spot where Apostle Andreas was crucified. The old one dating from 1835 A.D. and next to it, the new cathedral which was built in 1974 and is one of the biggest in Europe. Here one can see part of the cross on which the Apostle was crucified and his holy skull, which was transported from Italy, where it was being kept, in 1964.