How do you like them apples?

In recognition of today's date, apples, clementines and Curly were quickly assembled in a tribute to Lecco's patron saint. Having a patron saint usually means a day off for a select few (as in municipal office employees), but since we do not live in the town of Lecco itself, it was work as usual for the Moth. Still, I love the whole apple tale and had written about this sweet tradition of San Nicolò four years ago, a tale that I present here once again:

On December 6th children would receive gifts, but aside from the gifts they would also receive a puppet-like figure or pupazzo of San Nicolò. The pupazzo was made from a big red apple with a walnut or mandarin orange attached with a skewer for the face, and on top of it a red hat. Eyes were drawn on the face and a white beard attached. Now the story behind this tradition is that San Nicolò met 3 children who were so poor that he presented each one of them with a beautiful red apple. During the night, the apples turned into gold, and the children became rich.

So the question that is begging to be asked....so what's up with Curly? Well he's just here to carry on the show. Earlier this morning, local online news ran an article about two stands in downtown Lecco selling San Nicolò apples, and that one of the stands was looking to kick the competition out of the territory. Stand #1's presence (with a political bent) was affecting the sales of stand #2 (a religious association), necessitating the intervention of local police. I'm a victum of circumstance! Politics and religion have a long history of being bed partners but when it comes to apples, you had better find your own turf. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.