''L'è foeu el sginer and l'è foeu l'ors de la tana'' On 31 January there was the tradition of ''l'è foeu el sginer'' ("January's out"), a custom very similar to that celebrated on 2 February known as ''l'è foeu l'ors de la tana
("the bear is out from its den"). Both celebrated the end of winter and the imminent arrival of spring. The two customs involved walking around the town and inviting people to leave their houses under any pretext, like throwing a large piece of wood or a pot down the stairs. When people ran outside to check what had happened, they were greeted with the shout l'è foeu el sginer!
or l'è foeu l'ors de la tana!''
''Intraverser l'ann'' ''Intraverser l'èn
or intraverser l'ann'' (literally "to put the year across") was also celebrated on New Year's Eve: during the night, young people used to build
barricades of gates, doors, benches, agricultural tools, logs, stairs, sledges, and carts in the main
square, or in front of the church, to prevent the old year from leaving. The next morning, the owners of the stolen objects had to go and recover them, dismantling the barricade and metaphorically opening up the way to the new year.
The gabinat On 6 January, the custom of the
gabinat is still celebrated today, especially in
Tirano, in the Upper Valley, and in the nearby
Poschiavo Valley (Switzerland). Traditionally, children would suddenly enter other people's homes shouting
gabinat! and in exchange, they would receive a handful of cooked chestnuts, some sweets or dried fruit. The adults competed to precede the other in exclaiming
gabinat when they met. Whoever lost had to pay a pledge; often, the prize at stake was established in advance and the gabinat thus became the object of bets. To win, various strategies were adopted: stalking, disguises, fake illnesses ... Nowadays, it is only the children who do the
gabinat, and they usually show up to relatives, friends, and local shopkeepers. The custom of the
gabinat most likely comes from
Bavaria, Germany, where Christmas, New Year's Eve and
Epiphany were indicated with the name Geb-nacht (
Gaben means "gifts" and
Nacht means "night", therefore "night of gifts"): on the eve of these holidays, the poor young people sang in front of the doors of the wealthiest in the hope to receive a gift.
''Andà a ciamà l'erba'' (Let's go call the grass) On the first day of March each year, throughout Valtellina and
Valchiavenna, people used to go to ''ciamà l'erba'' ("call the grass"). The children walked in the meadows making a noise with
cowbells to call the grass and awaken it from its winter slumber. This custom also served to propitiate a bountiful
harvest.
The Carneval vegg (Old Carnival) In the village of
Grosio, the
Carnival is celebrated, unlike the rest of Valtellina, on the first Sunday of
Lent, according to the
Ambrosian calendar in force before the
Gregorian Reform. For this reason, it is called
Carneval vegg ("Old Carnival"). In the past, it was customary for people to gather all together to dance, sing, eat and drink. Being an agricultural ritual that represents the death of winter and the beginning of summer, Carnival officially began on 17 January with the parade of the blessed cattle adorned with coloured ribbons. It included numerous
bonfires, with which the paths were cleared to facilitate the passage of farmers, their agricultural vehicles and their livestock. A straw puppet with horns on his head representing the Carnival was also burnt. During the Carnival period,
manzòli or
manzòla, white flour and
buckwheat pancakes mixed with slices of cheese and cut into the shape of a
calf were eaten to propitiate the abundance of livestock parts.
La coscrizione (the conscription) The
conscription was originally a celebration on the occasion of the call to the draft: the tradition seems to have originated in the second half of the nineteenth century with the
unification of Italy when young men were forced to serve a period in the Army. The feast of the conscripts of eighteen-year-olds was therefore a kind of
rite of passage to adulthood. Today is simply the celebration of the
coming of age. The duration of the celebration varied from town to town: in Grosio the conscription could last up to ten days, during which the boys and girls met in bars, taverns, or in places specially set up for the purpose. The conscripts had the task of embroidering on the
tricolour flag the symbol and possibly the motto that the group had chosen. On the walls of the villages, it was customary to write
W LA CLASSE... ("cheers to the year...") followed by the year of birth: nowadays, conscripts hang a tricolour banner with the same wording and the names (or nicknames) of the members of the group. The feast of the conscripts is particularly felt in Alta Valtellina: in Grosio, for a week, the conscripts meet in a club to celebrate and travel through the streets of the town in a car from which the flag decorated with the symbol of the group waves. On New Year's Eve, amid
fireworks and the noise of whistles,
cowbells, motorcycles, and
tractors, they entrust the flag to conscripts one year younger, after having it blessed in church. Each group chooses different coloured sweatshirts and decorates the tricolour with a
symbol that represents the group's motto or identity. traditionally dressed
I Pasquali The
Pasquali are allegorical floats with a religious theme, prepared during the winter by the various districts of Bormio (Buglio, Combo, Dossiglio, Dossorovina and Maggiore) for Easter (Pasqua meaning Easter in Italian). On Easter day, the Pasquali are carried on the shoulders of the boys and are accompanied by a band, folk groups, women, seniors, and children who embellish the parade with flowers and other small crafts. Everyone wears the traditional red, black and white costume. After having followed the entire Via Roma and upon arrival at the Piazza del Kuerc (the main square of the town) the ancient bell called Bajona starts tolling and a jury draws up a ranking of the best Pasquali. At the end of the parade, the floats are exhibited in Piazza del Kuerc where they stay until Easter Monday.
Il Palio delle Contrade Started in 1963, the
Palio delle Contrade sees the inhabitants of the five districts of Bormio compete against each other, divided according to age, in downhill, cross-country, combined, and relay races. The cross-country race takes place through the streets of the town, covered with snow for the purpose. ==Wines==