MEZZAQUARESIMA. — Because of the strictness of Lent, the custom was introduced of inserting, at its exact midpoint, which falls on a Thursday, a day of carnival revelry. A large effigy, variously adorned and representing the old woman, displayed on a platform in the public square or carried around on a cart, and then burned or sawn apart (whence the name of Segavecchia given to the m.), amid the rejoicing of the crowd and especially of the children, constitutes the centre of the celebration. In various places in France and northern Italy, instead of one, there are several old women, with the same character and the same fate. The meaning of the custom coincides with that of the burning of carnival: all the physical and moral evils of the community, accumulated during the year, are ideally concentrated in the effigy, and its destruction is intended to eliminate them. Nor is the meaning different from that of the custom, in north-eastern Europe on that day, of throwing into the water a puppet representing death. It is therefore a New Year rite of elimination and renewal, even if today the people no longer have the slightest awareness of this.
The revelry of that day also has a carnival character, with processions of carts from which groups of merrymakers throw oranges, sugared almonds and confetti (Romagna), with dances and scenes on allegorical or satirical subjects (Reggio Emilia), and with the testament and death of the Old Woman (Verona). The typical foods of the m. likewise recall those of carnival: crostoli in Friuli, polestone at Stradella (Piemonte). In Tuscany, profane befane are performed, whose principal characters are the old man, the old woman and their son, and which conclude with the sawing apart of the old woman: similar performances also took place in the Veronese area. In the Marche, it was customary to serenade older women in search of a husband with the ringing of bells. In France, in Pas-de-Calais, girls were put up for auction: the ceremony took place in a meadow, and the young women were given in marriage to the highest bidder. In Florence, boys still attach little paper ladders to the backs of womenfolk and accompany the prank with shouts and taunts.
In Paris and throughout the Île de France, the celebration was organised by the guild of washermen; likewise, in Munich, Bavaria, apprentices pledged to become washermen carried in procession a bowl-tub and a barrel of wine, and went to drink to the health of the king and the city’s dignitaries. On this occasion a queen of m. was elected, and in some places, such as Bruges and Antwerp, enormous sweets were made depicting the count and countess of m., clearly representing a transfer of customs associated with calendimaggio. The competitions of crossbowmen, the palli and the other challenges of a warlike character held in various localities of France, Piemonte and elsewhere may also be traced back to these customs.