APRIL HOLIDAYS, BOTH RELIGIOUS AND CIVIC

April is the month in which the weather can be either rainy or mild, and usually people are happy to spend time outside, so life and activities move from the urban centres to walks in the countryside, some even close to home.
When, as happens this year, Easter falls at the end of April (precisely the 21st of the month), Italians can’t wait to relax a bit, planning short and longer outings.
The great feast of the Church, Easter, is a time of rebirth and renewal. This is where eating eggs comes in, both hens’ eggs and chocolate ones since the egg is the inception of life and a powerful symbol of newness and of the future.
We remind everyone that, besides Easter Sunday, in Italy the following Monday, the 22nd, is also a holiday when shops and offices are closed.
On that lunedì dell’Angelo, also called Pasquetta (or little Easter), the custom is to get away for an outing. Some go to eat fish by the sea, others meet friends for the classical walk outside the city walls, yet others organize the first picnic of the year; in short, many people take advantage of the free days to relax and enjoy the good weather … preferably in the best of company.
Moreover, a few days later on 25 April, the civic holiday of la liberazione celebrates the liberation of Italy from Nazi-Fascism in 1945: an important commemoration that marks the rebirth of the country after World War 2.
Consequently, this year, April is a month blessed by fortune and by a taste of the holidays. Schools remain closed for an entire week; so students and their parents begin the countdown toward the end of the school year. And everyone, without exception, tries to enjoy the days of freedom with lightheartedness thanks to the religious and civic ceremonies.