The tradition of the Easter cake Popular festivals

During the days previous to Easter, the pastry shops of Andorra exhibit a delicious and original show: cakes and chocolate figures, some of which are so complex and detailed that we can talk of real art works. This tradition, which is typical from Catalonia and Valencia, is known as “Mona de Pascua” (Easter cake). Its name has nothing to do with monkeys (‘mono’ in Spanish and Catalan), but comes from the Arabic term ‘munna’, which means “provision of the mouth”, a gift in the shape of sweet food that the Moriscos (Moorish convert to Christianity who remained in Spain after the Reconquest) used to make for their lords to celebrate that Lent was over. The Catholic tradition points out that the godfather gives his godson the mona on Easter Sunday, even though the very day to taste it is Easter Monday, which is a holiday in Catalonia. This is the day when families get together to eat the mona as a dessert