In the Venetian tradition, the Epiphany which occurs on January 6th, is celebrated with ornate fireworks and a huge bonfire created to “burn the witch” (brusare a vecia). Our ancestors used this bonfire as a way of presaging the weather for the coming year, not unlike Groundhog Day in the United States.
This tradition has different names depending which part of the Veneto you are in. In the countryside it may be called "Pirola Parola”; around Treviso it is called "Pan e Vin”; in the eastern Veneto, “Casera”; or any number of other strange names.
Noale, a small town in the Venetian countryside, still celebrates this ancient ceremony with a magical night, with well over 100 people appearing in historical costume and each representing a specific district (borgo) of the town.
Behind this festive atmosphere there had been a lot of study; the ritual follows ancient rules that in modern times had been rediscovered through historical research.
