151. Easter Saturday

My father taught me two true things about Easter Saturday.

At 11:00 AM, for one moment, the Mediterranean turns from salt water to fresh. Also at 11, worms crawl out of the Easter pastries.

One can imagine that the second was told to little boys to keep their grubby fingers off the Easter goodies that were being baked the week leading up to the holiday. I don’t know the origin of the first, except that my father and his friends in Gaeta, Italy, testing it out, were somehow never able to catch it at just the right moment.

While in America we are mesmerized by the glitter and commercialism of Christmas, in Italy and much of the rest of the Christian world, Easter is the more important holiday, theologically and culturally. So yesterday, I headed to South Philadelphia, hoping for a little of that Easter energy that is lacking out in the suburbs except in the candy aisle at Target. And frankly, it was a little disappointing: maybe we were just there too early, but it was just like any other Saturday in the Italian Market.

Disappointing until we stumbled upon Termini Brothers bakery, with a line outside of people waiting to buy their Easter breads and ricotta pies.

Now that’s the spirit! I didn’t need anything in particular, but got in line anyway, just to be part of the fun. So while we didn’t make it out to the Jersey Shore to taste the water, we came home with two cannoli, presumably worm-free.