December 26

December 26 is a national holiday in Italy.  Like December 25, nearly everything was closed and the streets were quiet.  A few museums were open, but many were still closed because it was Monday, the normal closing day. 

The historic origin of the holiday is the Feast of St. Stephen, or Santo Stefano, celebrated on December 26, the second of the 12 days of Christmas.   According to the Bible, Stephen lived in the first century and was appointed to give food and aid to poorer members of the community in the early church.  He was also outspoken about his beliefs and, as a result, was stoned to death.   Thus, Saint Stephen was an early martyr.

Stephen's example of feeding and helping the poor is the origin of a long tradition of giving money, gifts and food to the needy and to people in service positions on St. Stephen's Day.  The tradition might date as far back as the 4th or 5th centuries.  The tradition survives today in Italy as St. Stephen's Day and elsewhere, such as Boxing Day in the U.K.  The tradition also survives in the carol Good King Wenceslas. 

So, in keeping with tradition, early on December 26, we ventured out and took 3 buses to the western edge of Florence.  There, we joined fellow members of Susan's social organization to prepare and serve lunch to Florentines who are very poor or homeless.  The center of Florence is unaffordable for many Florentines.  So, the poor tend to live on the fringes of the city, which is where Caritas Firenze, a charitable organization, operates one of its several centers to assist the poor and oppressed. 

After arriving at the Caritas center, we donned our kitchen garb and set about slicing peppers.  Lots and lots of peppers.  It was a plethora of peppers, a plentitude of peppers, a profusion of peppers, a veritable passel of peppers.  Following the pepper party, we served the many guests who arrived for lunch.  After two hours, we had helped serve more than 300 people.  The operation was efficient, since lunch is served every day. 

The food was typical Italian cuisine.  The meal was nutritious, abundant and delicious.  The pictures below might make you feel hungry. 

The guests were mostly male, mostly older, and mostly Italian.  However, we did see some women, some younger folks (20's, 30's) and many immigrants (Africa, South America and Asia).  Everyone was happy to have a free meal in a warm place and some of the food was saved for later. 

We enjoyed doing our small part on St. Stephen's Day.  Here are some photos from our day. 

All guests had three large courses.  Have you ever seen mozzarella balls that large?  And there were two on the plate!

Pizza and salmon were among the many options.

The dessert course.  Of course, panettone was an option. 

Ready to serve

A happy, beautiful, welcoming face

Nice hats!  McDonald's called and wants to see if you have what it takes.

Pop Quiz:   What great 1987 film refers to the name Giuseppe Petri?    Below is a photo of Susan under the street sign where the Caritas center is located, with nearly the same spelling.