All the Christmas traditions of Bra, in the Province of Cuneo, Piedmont. What to eat and what to drink, how to have fun and prepare while waiting for the Christmas holidays in Bra, read in the post.
Where I come from, to those who were children in the Eighties, it was said that it was not Santa Claus who left the gifts under the tree, but baby Jesus. So every year, on the evening of on December 24st, my brother and I inevitably ended up arguing: we both wanted to have the honor of placing the plaster statue in the crib, in its cradle of moss and straw between the ox and the donkey.
The living nativity scenes
La province of Cuneo it is an area of peasant traditions, where there is no place for "fictional" characters like Santa Claus And its reindeer red-nosed. But for children there is an exception to the rule, with the preparation of cribs in churches. It was the only time of year when I was happy to accompany my grandmother to mass.
The most anticipated event of the week was Sunday of bridge of the Immaculate Conception, when we left by car for some small town scattered between Langhe and Roero, in search of Living Cribs. They are usually set up in the historic centers of the villages and reproduce the crafts ancient and life at the beginning of the last century. As a child I was enchanted by characters dressed as shepherds, blacksmiths and carpenters, deluding myself for a few hours that I was in another era. Only years later did I visit a nativity scene during the evening of the Christmas' Eve: after the midnight mass, we expect the arrival of Joseph and Mary, and we warm up by drinking burnt wine.
One of the best-known living nativity scenes in the province of Cuneo is that of Dogliani, born almost as a joke from the idea of the Pro Loco in the late seventies: since then it has become one of the most visited and most felt locally, with almost 400 appearing.
The music and the stories
We usually realize that Christmas is almost here thanks to the music of pipers. It is a tradition of some regions of Italy, from north to south, common to the areas related to sheep-farming. In fact, it is said that bagpipers are nothing but gods shepherds: during the movements on foot following the sheep, the men played the bagpipe, a sort of bagpipe made with sheepskin. During the Christmas period, the bagpipers interrupted the activity of shepherds and went down to the cities, with their dark cloaks and pointed hats. They walked along the main streets and, at the end of the mass, they played their melodies at the exit of the church.
The tradition of bagpipers is intertwined with the history of shepherd Gelindo, which is often staged during the Christmas period in the oratories of country churches in the weeks leading up to Christmas. The pastor is also present in the cribs Piedmontese, given that the statue of Gelindo appears to some extent in all nativity scenes from Roero to the borders with the province of Alessandria. According to legend, the shepherd Gelindo is a gruff but good man who is forced to leave his home in the Roero at the behest of the rulers. He leaves on the evening of Christmas Eve, with nothing but a lamb resting on his shoulders. For some bizarre Christmas magic and typically Roero, Gelindo will find himself crossing the road of Joseph and Mary, to which he will indicate the way to the cave where he will be born baby Jesus - not in Bethlehem, but in Piedmont. Now this story makes me smile, but when I was a child I couldn't help but look at the Gelindo figurine with some admiration.
Party food
In these parts, you know, any excuse is good for eating. They say about us Piedmontese that we are closed and not very hospitable, but perhaps those who say it have never been invited by a Piedmontese grandmother during the Christmas holidays.
We start cooking from December 20th: because there are so many things to prepare, because we all eat together on the evening of vigil "But just two samples of what will be tomorrow"; then the actual meal, the lunch on 25 which, inevitably, will continue with a dinner for those who have not fainted on sofas or carpets, and then meet with the survivors to finish the leftovers, for the Boxing Day lunch.
Among antipasti of tradition there are anchovies: although Piedmont is far from the sea, anchovies are one of the fundamental ingredients of Piedmontese cuisine. Legend has it that the spread of this ingredient dates back to the time when i salt merchants who came from France and Spain invented an expedient to avoid paying the heavy duties on salt: they filled the barrels with the precious ingredient coming from the French or Spanish salt pans, covering it with a thick anchovy layer, in order to deceive the customs officers in case they asked them to open the lids of the barrels. Whether this is true or not, the fact is that anchovies are never missing from the Christmas menu: both together with Baked peppers, both in green bath, a sauce made with parsley, garlic and hard-boiled eggs.
Another legendary dish is the Russian salad: there are many hypotheses on its origin, its history and its link with Russia. The one I prefer - although perhaps not the most accredited - tells that the dish was invented in the nineteenth century by the court cook of the Savoy, on the occasion of the Tsar's visit to the Savoy land. To prepare the dish, the cook would have used the ingredients that are still used today for the Russian salad here in Piedmont: carrots, potatoes, peas, zucchini and cream (the latter later replaced by mayonnaise).
The highlight is undoubtedly the Piedmontese boiled meat, which requires seven different cuts of veal: from the scaramella, to the leg to the breast, all cooked in broth which is then heated and consumed the following day together with the other leftovers. Any self-respecting boiled meat must be served together with sauces, which generally include that green (with parsley and anchovies), la rubra (tomato based) and the mustard (based on pears, cloves and cinnamon).
For those who make it, a spoonful of eggnog with a few corn biscuits, before falling asleep next to the crib.
