May 21st, 2009- May 24th, 2009 (TBA) The Holy Cross Holiday and the Tatarata Festival May 18, 2009

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The Tatarata Festival is a truly unique event and one of the oldest folk celebrations in Sicily. It remains a mystery until this day what exactly started this tradition. Tatarata is a kind of dance which is performed by two sword armed warriors facing each other. There will be a lot of couples like this in the city squares during the festival, dressed in white clothing, dancing. Some of the experts note that the tradition appeared during the period of Arab-Muslim rule, others maintain that it appeared much earlier, from the ancient Greeks who celebrated a good harvest in such a way.

The festivals takes place at the same time as another important religious event, namely the Holy Cross Holiday (the cross was found on the territory of Casteltermini before the city was ever built). According to the legend it was a cow that ran into the holy cross. The cow fell to the ground in the middle of a field and when people started to dig in that place they soon found a wooden cross. Today the cross is kept at the Santa Croce Church. Every year, in May the cross is brought outside and all the religious and curious people can have a look at it. The holidays take place on the same days and bring together all the people of the city. You can expect to witness religious processions, amazing traditional dancing, costumes and a wonderful, inspiring, and optimistic Sicilian music, filled with sun rays and a clear sky.