New Take, Old Tradition

Apparently today is the Festa di San Martino. This festival celebrates the products of the season: chestnuts and wine. How do I know this? Via Facebook of course. Last night, a friend 'poked' me to ask how I was honouring Saint Martin. Two seconds later and I was 'Asking Jeeves'. It appears that even with age old traditions, one needs a modern-day reminder of what's 'coming up'. In Italy, it's rare to pass a week without celebrating/commemorating something. Last Sunday it was the 'Blessing of the Tractors' - the modern day farmers' version of the original 'Blessing of the Goats' and this weekend the Italians will be dousing their bruscetta with this year's new oil. It's hardly surprising that in between all the toasts, one needs a 21st century prod in the right direction.