Custom of the three beans in Savoca
Batholith - CC1.0
The custom of the Savoca broad beans speaks of a rite that girls of marriageable age perform for the feast of St. John the Baptist.
According to tradition, girls of marriageable age on the evening of the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24, put three beans under the pillow of their bed: one completely naked, one half-dressed and the third fully dressed. . The next morning, as soon as she woke up, the girl had to take a stone without looking. Depending on the bean she would have taken, she would have had the wish of a rich, mediocre or poor husband.
There are other traditions related to girls of marriageable age. Another belief was "a scuta": the marriageable girl would listen alone in the full silence of the night or the calm of noon. If she had heard a name called, according to belief, that was the name of the man that fate had destined for her as a husband.
Another particular tradition was represented by the recitation of songs of love or disdain or the use of melting lead that predicted the girl's happy or unhappy future.
