Feast of Saint Mark
Encyclopedia

Local observances

In Tresnuraghes
Tresnuraghes
Tresnuraghes is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 130 km northwest of Cagliari and about 40 km north of Oristano...

, a small village in the Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

n region of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 holds a traditional Sardinian feast, the most important one, which is a time of excess consumption that helps solidify the social community. Local shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

 families in this predominantly pastoral community offer sheep and oversee cooking them in a gesture of thanks to Providence
Divine providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...

. Other families offer bread as thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 or for favors desired. Hundreds of people, mostly from Tresnuraghesi, but a large number of outsiders as well, eat and drink to satiation together.

In Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, St.Mark is the city's saint patron, and the 25th of April is a city holiday.

The 25th of April is national holiday throughout Italy, though not as St.Mark's Day, but as anniversary of the liberation of Italy from the Nazi-Fascists in WWII (25 April 1945).
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