Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day - a holiday celebrated in Italy as Festa della Donna. It’s a holiday celebrated in various countries, but one that gets a particularly bright form of expression here in Italy.
The history of the holiday - as we understand it - goes something like this (we’re indebted to this website for information):
Before the Second Word War, Women’s Day had been celebrated on different days in early March in several Italian cities. In 1945, the Union of Italian Women decided to hold all celebrations and commemorations on March 8, a day symbolic in the history of women’s rights for two reasons: (1) it was the day in which women garment workers in New York went on strike in 1857, an act which led to the formation of the first women’s union in the United States, and (2) a strike by Russian women calling for “bread and peace” on March 8, 1917 (February 23 on the old Russian Calendar but March 8 in the rest of the world.)
Our source further informs us of the process by which the giving of yellow mimosa flowers came to the standard way of celebrating the day:
Authorities don’t agree how or why, but the custom started in Italy - some sources say in Rome in 1946 - of men giving their wives, mothers, daughters, and other women friends sprigs of bright yellow mimosa flowers on March 8. Women have since also started to give mimosa to each other. The flowers are intended as a sign of respect for the women and also an expression of solidarity with oppressed women worldwide.
So what to expect in Rome if you’re out and about today? Flower markets filled with brilliant yellow mimosa blooms, information booths set up in piazzas as well as a variety of manifestazioni about issues pertaining to women’s rights worldwide. Italy’s three largest trade unions - Cgil, Cisl and Uil - have organized a national march in Rome in support of women’s rights in the workplace and the effort will be joined by Italian trade union leaders and Equal Opportunities Minister (love that title!) Barbara Pollastrini. Commenting on the march, Pollastrini said.
We must be there in the squares, cities and institutions to hammer home our independence.
We ask for more jobs for women, especially in the south.
Italy remains second to bottom of all European Union countries for the percentage of women in employment, with 46.9 percent compared to the European average of 58.8 percent, according to a report issued by EU statistics bureau Eurostat this week.
Among other national initiatives on Saturday, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano will oversee a special ceremony at the Quirinal Palace in Rome where women who have distinguished themselves in a variety of fields will be honored.
Finally, be aware that restaurants filled with celebratory crowds this evening, thus if you’re planning to go out, be sure to make a reservation as it’s a day on which those mammas that still cook dinner every night are released from kitchen duty.
