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the provincial highway. The departure of the same bus three days later was also escorted by the children but with an exuberance that soon changed into a regretful silence. During the feast there were many vendors from out of town who set their tables in the square and in the main road to sell a variety of objects just as it was customary in country fairs. The two most popular vendors for the children were the ice cream vendor and the cherry vendor. For most children this was the only time during the year when they could have an ice cream cone. As for the cherries, these were the first of

the season and they were sold in "mazzarell", a seven or eight inch cane to which the cherries had been attached with a string forming a little stick of cherries. There were, of course, other things sold. The women had the opportunity to buy cloth to make dresses, kerchiefs and utensils. There were many visitors from other towns and often dinner invitations were extended even to strangers. The feast ended with the "palio". This was an auction of objects donated by the people to raise money for
the expenses of the feast. The objects, unless they were live animals, were hung and displayed on a pyramidal wooden frame, "la conocchia".
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The auction usually took place in the town square.

There were other religious holidays. Easter was a joyous event following the sad period of Lent. During the Holy Week a statue of the dead Christ was in display in the church and people went to pray there. The religious ceremony of the Holy Thursday had a peculiar practice so dear to the children. During this ceremony in church there was a period of time when the lights were shut off, and the children were allowed to make all the noises they wanted with wooden rattlers (a seasonal toy only used during the Passion Week), to represent the angry noises of the populace asking for the death of Christ. Children loved this because it was the only time when they were permitted to make noises in church. The joy of Easter was announced on Easter Sunday with the long and festive bell ringing. When flowers were not available for Easter, the altar was decorated with pots of wheat sprouts grown in the dark to develop a white stem and in the light to allow the tips of the sprouts to turn green. These pots were often decorated with colorful ribbons. Easter was also the feast for which the mothers baked the "pupe" and the "castiell", the traditional cookies shaped like pregnant dolls for the girls and strange birds for boys. Eight days after Easter many men celebrated with a picnic at which they prepared an omelet often with asparagus. Drinking excessively, usually frowned upon, was tolerated for this occasion.