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Custom  of  the  Grillo.
The  Feast  of  the  Ascension  brings  with
it  a  quaint  old  Florentine  custom,  the  origin
of  which  is  unknown.  Hundreds  of  grilli—small
black  crickets—are  sold  all  over  the  town  in
tiny  cages  just  big  enough  to  hold  the  insect
and  the  lettuce  leaf  it  feeds  on,  and  are  purchased -
  by  the  Florentines  for  luck,  especially
in  love  matches.  In  days  gone  by,  the  great
idea  was  to  find  the  grillo  for  oneself  in  the
Cascine,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  Ascension
Day  a  veritable  pilgrimage  of  families  of  the
middle  and  lower  classes  used  to  be  seen
wending  their  way  to  the  meadows  of  the
Cascine,  where  they  passed  the  greater  part
of  the  day  on  the  grass  picnicking,  and  enjoying -
  their  first  summer  holiday.  The  custom
still  prevails  to  a  great  extent,  and  the  cheerful
family  groups,  and  the  grilli  vendors  with
their  cry,  “  l’ho  i’  grillo  canterino,  all  combine -
  with  the  leafy  beauty  of  the  Cascine  on
a  fine  May  morning  to  form  a  bright  and  picturesque -
  scene.
Gennaio  fa  il  ponte
E  Febbraio  lo  rompe.
Gennaio  fa  il  peccato
E  Maggio  il  condannato.
The  bridge  which  January  makes
The  thaw  of  February  breaks.
January  the  sin  commits
And  May  the  penal  sentence  hits.