The Bank Holiday on August 15th is typically Italian although it is celebrated in a number of other European countries, but not in the UK. Many Italians take long holidays around this date, celebrating the actual day with lavish long lunches and given the heat at this time of the year often seaside, lakeside or in the refreshing mountain air.
The Catholic Church celebrate this day as one of Holy Obligation which commemorates the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the actual elevation of her soul into Heaven.
The word Ferragosto derives from the Latin phrase feriae Augusti (Augustus' rest), a feast that was started by the emperor Octavian Augustus in 18 BC to celebrate the harvest and the end of the main farm work. During the festivities, throughout the empire were organized races with horses donkeys and mules, were free from work and decked with flowers. These ancient traditions are still alive in some parts of Italy today, virtually unchanged in form and participation such as the Palio di Siena held in Siena on August 16 every year.
All over Italy tonight there will be musical entertainment, plus in some places Fireworks to celebrate Ferragosto, so what sort of music will they be listening to. A lot of it will be English language pop music, but here is a varied selection of the tribute to Ferragosto videos that I found on YouTube.
Some Reggae to start with.
Courtesy of sabrina3309 Laid Back - Sunshine Reggae
This next video sums up summer beautifully.
Courtesy of marinellaforever
A blast from the past, this artist is still very popular here in Italy.
Courtesy of STAGE58
My final choice is another oldie that sums up summer nights in the city for me 'Luna di Citta d' Agosto' 'The Moon in the City in August sung by Lorenzo Jovanotti.
Courtesy of surbino
Please note that some of you may be restricted from watching these videos via the blog and you may have to visit YouTube to do so successfully.
I hope you are all having a good week and to those of you that are celebrating here in Italy Buon Ferragosto, more information about the significance of this holiday can be found by visiting, Ferragosto – Wikipedia.
Please note that much of this post appeared in Buon Ferragosto 2010 but I am sure those of you that have been reading News From Italy for that long will not mind me sharing the information and music with you again.
We will be celebrating today with Our Wonderful Neighbours, some of you will already know how kind they are to us, treating us like members of their extended family.
Buon Ferragosto
Hello Linda:
ReplyDeleteBuon Ferragosto!
This holiday is not celebrated in Hungary, perhaps because it is so close to August 20th which is the feast of St Stephen, the patron saint of Hungary. On that day, the right hand of St Stephen is paraded through the streets!!!
Thank you for posting those videos and the information on Ferragosto. I really like your musical moments.
ReplyDeleteBuon Ferragosto, Lindy!
ReplyDeleteThank you for beautiful songs!
The first photo is very beautiful and musics are really touching.
ReplyDeleteThe Italians really know how to party! Perhaps we would too, here in the UK, if the weather could be guaranteed. At the moment it is raining cats and dogs. So just as well we are not celebrating anything.
ReplyDeleteWe have the holiday here as well. As for video restrictions, I cannot watch on anything as you know! One day maybe. Hope you had a good day. Diane
ReplyDeleteBuon Ferragosto! I always wanted to participate in these festivities, but admittedly, I've always fled Italy during August. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder on the Holy Day of Obligation! I completely forgot. Love the flower shot--so pretty!
ReplyDeleteBuon Ferragosto a te, LindyLouMac.
ReplyDeleteWe do not celebrate this in the US and it is always something I try to explain to friends who think they want to visit Italy around this time of August. The Italians may not be there and the shops and places might be closed! Buon Ferragosto, Linda!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day of celebration. I wish I could listen to the music, but I am unable to access it from here - It must be really nice music.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, hope you enjoy the day! I was pleasantly surprised to see England beat Italy 2-1 last night. But yes, it's only a friendly!
ReplyDeleteDuncan In Kuantan
Belgium too is a catholic country, so it's a day off on August 15 ! Gianni Morandi is still known here too, probably due to the huge Italian community in Belgium. BTW I have a post today of my best friend's Mother in Law. "Italian Mammas"
ReplyDeleteThe house is full of family members at this time of August, whether in Italy or England, as Ferragosto coincides with my husband's birthday, so we keep up the tradition of
ReplyDeletea bar-b-q, music etc, whether here or there. Buon Ferragosto, Lindy! I can imagine you have been having a lovely celebration with your neighbours.
Every time I read your blog posts, I feel my life has become more enriched. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the beautiful music and the information about the Italian holiday. Blessings, Ginger
ReplyDelete