Christmas in Sardinia: the bread of the tradition

The tradition of Christmas in Sardinia requires to celebrate this important holiday in a special way, typical of this Mediterranean island: preparing a type of characteristic bread that is cooked strictly over the Christmas period. And every part of Sardinia has its own type of bread and celebrate Christmas with it.

In particular, in the Logudoro there are two special Christmas breads. The first one is known as bacchiddu ‘e Deu (literally “the rod of God”): it is a rod-shaped bread with the tip pointing down, like the bishop’s staff, and it is donated to the children during the “questua” (a begging). The second one is the sa pertusitta: it’s a big bread, and on its crust are represented scenes of pastoral life, with images of shepherds, sheep and dogs.

Instead in Busachi area, in the province of Oristano, the traditional Christmas bread is known as sa tunda: it’s a large circular-shaped loaf of bread that is consumed between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

But during the Christmas in Sardinia, the bread is linked to other traditions. As the famous crib of bread of Olmedo, the only example in Italy that combines two ancient traditions as the bread and the crib.

 

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