Easter is celebrated with different rites all over the world and even Roman Catholic traditions may vary from country to country.
Last year we looked for example at a special rite that takes place during the Holy Week in Chieti, Italy, and that has got some connections with fashion, but there are other traditions showing links with costumes and design.
In the town of Sulmona, Italy, for example there is a celebration called "Madonna che scappa" (literally "The Running Madonna").
The origins of this celebration are actually uncertain, but there is photographic evidence showing the rite in 1861, even though some historians say it was already taking place in the 1600s.
The rite consists in a sort of restaging of the encounter between the Virgin Mary and her son Jesus after the resurrection.
On the Saturday night the statue of the Virgin Mary dressed in mourning robes is taken the Church of Saint Filippo Neri. The next morning, while this statue awaits in the church, members of the confraternity of the Madonna of Loreto take the statues of the resurrected Jesus, of Saint John and Saint Peter to the main square of the town, Piazza Garibaldi.
The statue of Jesus stops in the square under the arches of the Svevo aqueduct, while the apostles are taken to the church where the Virgin Mary is waiting.
St. John is taken up to the door to announce the Virgin Mary that Jesus has resurrected, but she doesn't believe him. He therefore goes back to Peter who is taken in turn to the door of the church to bring the same message to the Virgin Mary, but she doesn't believe him as well. John is sent again and eventually the Virgin Mary accepts to go with them and gets out of the church.
Slowly and with a characteristic walk (called "struscio", that is "shuffle") the members of the confraternity carry the statue of the Virgin Mary outside. When she arrives at the fountain of the main square, the Virgin Mary recognises her son and starts running towards him.
Here's when there is a pure fashion moment: thanks to an ingenious system of threads (but don't expect to learn about it since only the members of the confraternity and of the family charged with dressing the statue know about it...), the Virgin Mary loses her black cloak and handkerchief.
A green dress (matching with the colour of the short cape donned by the members of the confraternity who also wear a white tunic) embroidered with gold threads appears in the place of the cloak and a red flower in place of the handkerchief. At the same time 12 doves are set free from under the statue.
If the run takes place without accidents (the cloak perfectly falls to the ground and doesn't get stuck in the curly hair of the statue, none of the men falls and so on), this will be a good year, otherwise, according to the tradition, there will be tragedies or natural disasters (historical falls in 1914 and 1940 are said to have foreseen dramatic events - the First and Second World Wars).
After the run, the statue of the Virgin Mary is taken to the Church of Saint Chiara where her hair and clothes are readjusted before the main procession that takes place in the streets of the town.
There are similar traditions in other towns in Italy, where the central theme is the meeting between Mary and Jesus, but Sulmona is the only place where the Madonna changes her dress as she runs. The act of shredding the black cloak could be interpreted not just from a religious perspective, but also in a secular way, and may be referred at leaving behind Winter and embracing the joys of Spring. Have a lovely Easter, Spring break or weekend!
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