Editing Sicily (section)

===Popular culture===
Each town and city has its own patron saint, and the [[feast day]]s are marked by colourful processions through the streets with marching bands and displays of fireworks.

Sicilian religious festivals also include the ''presepe vivente'' (living [[nativity scene]]), which takes place at Christmas time. Deftly combining religion and folklore, it is a constructed mock 19th-century Sicilian village, complete with a nativity scene, and has people of all ages dressed in the costumes of the period, some impersonating the Holy Family, and others working as artisans of their particular assigned trade. It is normally concluded on [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]], often highlighted by the arrival of the [[magi]] on horseback.

Oral tradition plays a large role in Sicilian folklore. Many stories passed down from generation to generation involve a character named "[[Giufà]]". Anecdotes from this character's life preserve Sicilian culture as well as convey moral messages.

Sicilians also enjoy outdoor festivals, held in the local square or ''piazza'' where live music and dancing are performed on stage, and food fairs or ''sagre'' are set up in booths lining the square. These offer various local specialties, as well as typical Sicilian food. Normally these events are concluded with fireworks. A noted ''sagra'' is the ''Sagra del Carciofo'' or ''[[Artichoke]] Festival'', which is held annually in [[Ramacca]] in April. The most important traditional event in Sicily is the [[carnival]]. Famous carnivals are in [[Acireale]], [[Misterbianco]], [[Regalbuto]], [[Paternò]], [[Sciacca]], [[Termini Imerese]].

The '''[[Opera dei Pupi]]''' (Opera of the Puppets; [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]]: Òpira dî pupi) is a [[marionette]] theatrical representation of Frankish romantic poems such as the [[Song of Roland]] or ''[[Orlando furioso]]'' that is one of the characteristic cultural traditions of Sicily. The sides of donkey carts are decorated with intricate, painted scenes; these same tales are enacted in traditional [[puppet theatre]]s featuring hand-made marionettes of wood. The opera of the puppets and the Sicilian tradition of ''cantastorî'' (singers of tales) are rooted in the Provençal [[troubadour]] tradition in Sicily during the reign of [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]], in the first half of the 13th century. A great place to see this marionette art is the puppet theatres of [[Palermo]]. The Sicilian marionette theatre Opera dei Pupi was proclaimed in 2001 and inscribed in 2008 in the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].<ref>{{cite web |author=UNESCO Culture Sector |title=El teatro de marionetas siciliano Opera dei Puppi |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00011&RL=00011 |access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref>

Today, there are only a few troupes that maintain the tradition. They often perform for tourists. However, there are no longer the great historical families of marionettists, such as the Greco of [[Palermo]]; the [[Gaspare Canino|Canino]] of [[Partinico]] and [[Alcamo]]; Crimi, Trombetta and Napoli of [[Catania]], Pennisi and Macri of [[Acireale]], Profeta of [[Licata]], Gargano and Grasso of [[Agrigento]]. One can, however, admire the richest collection of marionettes at the Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino and at the [[Museo Etnografico Siciliano Giuseppe Pitrè]] in Palermo. Other elaborate marionettes are on display at the Museo Civico Vagliasindi in [[Randazzo]].

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Sicilian animated crib.JPG|Sicilian ''arrotino'' at a living [[nativity scene]] wearing traditional Sicilian clothing
File:Trapani Misteri.jpg|The "[[Misteri di Trapani|Misteri]]", a religious festival in [[Trapani]]
File:Carnival at Acireale.JPG|A [[carnival]] float in [[Acireale]]
File:Pupi, Catania.JPG|The [[marionettes]] used in the [[Opera dei Pupi]]
</gallery>