Dear Sciaralovers,
today February 3 is the day when San Biagio is celebrated, protector of the throat and patron of our country, Bronte.
The best known miracle of San Biagio is the rescue of a child who was suffocating with a fish bone stuck in his throat.
For this reason it has become a tradition to bless the throats of children in his own name on February 3rd.
But what does Panettone have to do with it?
According to a popular Milanese story, a peasant woman had brought a panettone to her parish priest to bless before Christmas, but then she forgot it in the rectory.
The priest then began to eat it, but then the woman returned to claim it on February 3, the day of San Biagio.
So the curate was already preparing to apologize, when instead of the empty wrapper, a whole panettone appeared, bigger than the previous one!
For this reason it is customary, especially in Milan, to eat some Panettone left over from Christmas on the morning of February 3, with the hope of keeping ailments away and protecting yourself from sore throats.
Thanks to this legend, therefore, there is a greedy thread of connection between Bronte and Milan; a connection of which San Biagio and our beloved Panettone are the protagonists 😊
