Spring day

On 14 March, the Arbëreshë of the Italian coast, an Albanian community that lives in Italy since the fifteenth century, collect a tuft of grass roots and soil, bringing it home to commemorate the anniversary of their emigration from Albania.

The great Fire (Zjarri) is kindled on the eve or before sunrise in order to give strenght to the Sun, and people dance and sing around it or jump across it, a ritual practiced for the end of winter, renewal, purification and apotropaic purposes.

The celebration of Dita e Verës begins on the previous day with the preparation of sweets: the revani and ballakume, the blended butter, sugar, corn flour and egg yolks cooked in a wood oven.

During the evening ballakume, dried figs, walnuts, turkey legs, boiled eggs, Simit (a typical sandwich of the city) are distributed to members of the family.

On the morning of 14 March, the elderly leave the door open as a sign of generosity, a pitcher filled with fresh water and take home a clump of green grass.

The youngest fertilizes the orange and olive trees, but the smaller ones are the first to make the "lucky" visits to neighbors and relatives who give them turkey legs, dried figs and nuts.

The holiday is therefore mostly observed and dominated by teenagers and young adults, who massively take over public parks, beaches and other outdoor venues in the larger cities, and enjoy sports or picnics.