Is candeberis and Is candelaus, the traditions of Sardinian New Year’s Day
Origins and meaning of the ancient traditions related to New Year’s Day in Sardinia
Elegant sweets, finely decorated, but also more substantial dishes, like trigu cottu, an icon for richness and prosperity, they’re both part of the rituals handed down for generations to say goodbye to the last year and welcome the new one at best.
In Sardinia, food is intimately bound to the celebration of important moments, and New Year’s Day, a true watershed – figuratively, but even concretely – between the “old” that we want to leave behind, and the “new” that we want to welcome, is not an exception.
The dinner of 31st includes typical Sardinian courses, which in their apparent simplicity are inextricably related to a wide richness of the land, with its unique flavors, smells and colors, such as culurgiones, iconic regional ravioli with their peculiar crescent shape, whose filling, usually made of potatoes, pecorino cheese and mint (some variations include chard or spinach and fresh ricotta) is sealed with a classic spike of wheat closure, a symbol for gratitude and abundance, but even stewed lamb with roast potatoes and other side dishes based on winter vegetables, like cardoons and artichokes, and unmissable papassinos, large biscuits made with shortcrust pastry enriched with almonds, walnuts, raisins, grated lemon zest and honey, undoubtedly one of the most loved Sardinian Christmas desserts ever.
These are then alternated with local delicacies varying from region to region through the island, with that unmistakable mix of influences and customs that always characterized the food and culture of Sardinia. For example, along the coast, seafood dishes are very popular, such as fregula con arselle, a toasted semolina pasta served with a tasty clam broth, but also burrida a sa casteddaia, a sweet and sour fish specialty which features dogfish, cooked and seasoned with oil, vinegar, garlic, walnuts and a few optional spices, and last but not least mussel soup flavored with garlic and parsley, an Olbia’s own tradition. In the area of Nuoro, however, and more generally in the hinterland, preparing some roast suckling pig is a popular custom, a symbol of Sardinian conviviality, and a reminder of the strong bond of men with land, and sa cordula, which owes its name from the intertwining of lamb intestines and guts roasted over an open fire.
At the same time, there are even more traditions of the Sardinian New Year’s Day, perhaps less known outside the island, but nevertheless heartfelt and widespread, giving life to unique rites combining cuisine, symbolism and spirituality.
Despite its apparently fragmented geography and specific local customs rooted in different Sardinian towns and villages, which reflect the complex relations of peoples with their own traditions, beliefs and visions of the world, who have alternated on the island over the last millennia, there’s indeed a strong cultural unity that manifests itself first and foremost in ancient food traditions bound to agriculture and the natural cycle of seasons. A common thread that links the past and the present of Sardinia, in a mix of sacred and profane clearly visible in important celebrations like the Festival of Sant’Efisio, but also a sense of belonging and unity describing the identity of its people, originating from agricultural and rural culture.
Taking into account the Sardinian gastronomic traditions – and not only – common elements emerge that seem to unite territories geographically distant from each other. Meanings and intentions that can still be found today, for example, in the rituals of Is candelabris and Is candelaus, which since remote ages have made together families and local communities in a wish for abundance, prosperity and serenity for the new year to come.
Is Candeberis: the “cooked wheat” to wish Happy New Year in Sardinia
Among the oldest rituals related to the New Year’s Day celebrations in Sardinia certainly can’t be missing su trigu cottu, cooked wheat, a cornerstone of the agricultural diet of these populations that dwelled for millennia in Sardinia, yet a symbol of good luck and abundance. The grains of wheat, so many that they cannot be counted, like the coins that one hopes to gain in the wallet, perform a function similar to pomegranate and lentils, unmissable on the tables of the last day of the year all over Mediterranean cultures.
Even the preparation of su trigu cottu is not left to chance, and becomes a key part of an ancient ceremony: on December 31, New Year’s Eve, wheat grains are soaked for at least 12 hours, then boiled in water and left to rest in a scivedda, the classic Sardinian terracotta container, closed overnight inside a basket, cadinu, keeping wheat straw. The purpose is to preserve the heat, so that wheat continues cooking until its consumption.
The next morning, January 1, trigu is served for breakfast, either “pure” or sweetened with fresh goat or sheep milk (typical of Sulcis-Iglesiente) or with sapa (more popular in Medio Campidano), or grape must. Sometimes it’s also offered at the end of lunch, to wish loved ones a year full of prosperity and happiness.
In many areas of Sardinia, such as Campidano and Sulcis, there’s still the ancient custom of Is Candeberis, which involves adults and children going from house to house, banging pots and pans to wake up relatives and neighbors and give them a plate of wheat. A real wish, a gesture of solidarity, especially in past centuries when hot meals were often a luxury for a few, and people wanted to make sure no one went hungry at least on this particularly significant day. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the most classic wish in the Sardinian language is precisely the expression salude e trigu (health and wheat).
Many initiatives are also undertaken by local organizations to keep alive the tradition of Is Candeberis, above all to wish a better year to those who have went through a hard time. For example, in Arbus, Medio Campidano, the association “Angeli del cuore” takes care of distributing trigu cottu to the families of the town every year, and same happens in Guspini and Fluminimaggiore, in Iglesiente, renewing a thousands-year-old act of sharing and hope for a world that today is going extremely both isolated and isolating, where individuals are often disconnected from the whole social context they live in.
Is Candelaus and other traditional delicacies of the Sardinian New Year’s Day
Food is also the protagonist of another delicious tradition of the New Year’s Eve in Sardinia, more specifically within Campidano of Cagliari, a historical-geographical region in the south of the island, nowadays even extended to other areas, which is the preparation of Is Candelaus (from Latin kalendae, a term to indicate the first day of the month and in this case of the year), a delicacy part of the so-called druccis finis, finely decorated sweet creations with an elegant royal icing.
The undisputed protagonist of this sweet delicacy is almond, used both in the preparation of its crumbly pastry and its soft filling, flavored with orange blossom water. The whole thing is then covered with a delicate royal icing made from egg whites and powdered sugar, which in addition to giving extra sweetness it also decorates cakes with the most varied symbols, such as sophisticated roses, small animals, or more complex baskets, a variant particularly appreciated when these sweets are prepared for baptisms, weddings and holy communions.
Equally fascinating is the ceremony that refers to the preparation and consumption of su Càbude, a ceremonial bread with a strong propitiatory function made since pre-Christian age with semolina and sourdough, then decorated with iconic figures representing different professions or objects, generally filled with jam and prickly pears, although it is also possible to find savoury versions.
According to tradition, this bread was broken on the head of the youngest or firstborn child (hence the name cabude, which derives from Latin caput, “head”), dropping its crumbs into the flames of a fireplace while pronouncing the famous refrain cantas dischinidas ruene in terra, annos appas de bona fortuna, that is “as many crumbs as fall to the ground, may you enjoy years of good fortune”.
A very widespread tradition, especially in past centuries and in some towns in Barbagia, is sa Candelarìa, on which children go from house to house to receive food and sweets – mainly biscuits, fresh and dried fruit, and famous Cocòne, a rustic and very tasty bread made with durum wheat flour, yeast, water, salt and lard. A ritual of sharing reflected in the desire to redistribute wealth with everybody and promote social cohesion and sense of community.
These are customs with very ancient roots, but still very heartfelt today, that deserve to be experienced firsthand to understand their most authentic essence, inherent in that feeling of strong social, historical and cultural unity that has always been the glue between the apparently fragmented Sardinian society and peoples.
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