Easter Traditions among Slovenes in Italy (Natisone Valley)

Abstract

The paper discusses some Easter traditions of Slovenes living in the Natisone Valley in Italy. The research is based on the authors’ field data, ethnographic literature, and archival materials. Easter practices and vocabulary related to the celebration of Easter are analyzed in this paper. The paper covers customs that have not been previously described in the scientific literature or those that have had little attention devoted to them and have remained largely unexplored until now. On the one hand, in the vocabulary of the Slovenian dialect of the Natisone Valley, numerous borrowings from Romance (Italian and Friulian) languages are found, mainly in the field of ritual foods. On the other hand, Slovenian lexemes also penetrate into the Romance languages. The authors use data from neighboring Slovenian dialects in order to demonstrate the broader typological perspective of the study. The paper ends with excerpts from the narratives of informants describing the celebration of Easter, which are published with English translations. The detailing of a questionnaire related to Easter among Slovenes in Italy is a future research perspective.