March 20, 2022 - Spring Begins | National Ravioli Day

Welcome to March 20th, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the sweet signs of Spring and pasta turf wars. In Greek mythology, Demeter was the goddess of farming, and she loved her daughter Persephone very much. So when Hades, god of the underworld, abducted Persephone, the goddess was furious and demanded that her daughter be returned. Hades agreed, but there was a problem. Pomegranate seeds. Persephone had eaten a few during her stay and eating or drinking anything in the underworld caused a person to be trapped there forever. The gods worked out an agreement where Persephone could return to the surface world. But only for half of the year. When Persephone is away, crops die and leaves fall. But when her daughter is on Earth, Demeter is happy and everything begins to grow again. It’s a little something we like to call the start of Spring. Ravioli have been around since the 14th Century. But sometime around the 1940s a ravioli was accidentally dropped into a fryer and a new sensation was born. The incident took place in an Italian American neighborhood in St. Louis, known locally as The Hill. And here’s where it gets strange. At least three restaurants claim the accident occurred in their kitchen. All of the original owners have passed away. And the only one around to produce any proof is Sicilian, Tony Lombardo. He proudly displays Lombardo’s 1930s menu that includes the toasted rav. On National Ravioli Day get the party started by frying up your own batch of toasted ravs. Just don’t get any bright ideas about claiming you invented them. I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices