L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Dear Readers, March, the m o n t h n a m e d f o r M a r s t h e Roman god of war, has many Italian connected dates. Saint Patrick's Day. Yes, it's t i m e f o r y o u t o g e t a g r e e n n e c k t i e o r s c a r f o u t o f y o u r closet and for me to recycle my "St. Patrick was Italian" column so you can win a few wagers at your local "Irish Coffee" dis- pensary where doubting Tom- masi are sure to be present: The first St. Patrick's Day in the US was held in Boston in 1734. By stretching things a bit, you can correctly state that "St. Patrick was Italian." Patrick's parents w e r e R o m a n s . T h e R o m a n s r u l e d E n g l a n d a t t h a t t i m e Calpurnius, Patrick's father, was a high Roman diplomat liv- ing in England, but a Roman citizen. Patrick was born in England a r o u n d t h e y e a r 3 8 5 A D . Roman cities in England had shops and beautiful houses, so Patrick lived the good life for a while. A c r o s s t h e s e a i n I r e l a n d (Eire), things were not so good. Tribal kings were constantly feuding, and in the year 400 A D , a t r i b a l k i n g ( N i a l l ) attacked England. He took thou- sands of prisoners, including Patrick, for slaves. Soon the rich little Roman kid was forced to herd pigs and sheep, just a poor little slave boy far from home. Patrick was taken to North- ern Ireland and sold to another t r i b a l k i n g n a m e d M e l i u c c . Meliucc and his family were kind on Patrick, and their chil- dren were good company . Still, Patrick (Maewyn) was alone in a strange land, only 15 years old. He did not know the lan- guage; he didn't know if his family was still alive. Patrick slept in a mud hut and was a swineherd. A t 2 1 y e a r s o l d , a f t e r s i x years as a slave, he ran away. Walking many miles to the sea, he found a ship that took him back to England. By now, the Romans had been chased out; they were no longer the rulers, and the country was in ruins. P a t r i c k s a i l e d a c r o s s t h e channel and wandered through Europe, and then on to Rome, and found that, by the year 410 AD, the center of all Roman power had been conquered as well. His past was really dead, s o h e d e c i d e d t o g o b a c k t o England to think, pray and live v e r y q u i e t l y t h e r e . W h i l e i n prayer, he felt certain that God was calling him back to Ireland, to bring all those tribes together and make Ireland a Christian land. But first, Patrick went to F r a n c e a n d s t u d i e d r e l i g i o n there for ten years. In the year 432 AD, Pope Celestine made Patrick a Bishop a n d n a m e d h i m " P a t r i c i u s " . Now, Bishop Patricius sailed for Ireland. The Irish people were not interested in Christian- ity and tried to stone him to death. The Bishop and his men fled and found shelter for the night in a barn near the shore. The barn belonged to a tribal king named Dichu. He thought the Bishop and his men were robbers and wanted to kill them. Patrick held out his hand and smiled, and a golden aura shone on his face. Dichu put down his weapon, his fierce dog stopped growling (according to legend), a n d D i c h u b e c a m e t h e f i r s t Christian in Ireland, and the barn the first church. Patrick traveled all over Ire- land. He always had a drummer with him. When he arrived at a v i l l a g e , t h e d r u m m e r w o u l d d r u m , a n d t h e p e o p l e w o u l d come from their houses to listen to him (as in drumming up busi- ness). Patrick showed them a sham- rock, like a three-leafed clover. Patrick explained the idea of the Father, the Son and the Holy G h o s t . ( I f n o s h a m r o c k s a r e handy, use the water, ice and steam idea). Today, the shamrock is Ire- land's national flower, and as more and more tribal kings and their people became Christians, they came together to worship and be united as a country. Bishop Patricius drummed the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea (according to leg- e n d ) , a n d b u i l t h u n d r e d s o f c h u r c h e s . W h e n h e d i e d o n March 17 (between 461 and 62 AD), the Pope declared him a s a i n t a n d h a d h i m b u r i e d o n church grounds in Downpatrick, Ireland. In the U.S., St. Patrick's Day means party time. In Ireland, it means Holy Time. International women's Day, (La Festa della Donna) has been celebrated on March 8, in Italy for decades some say it may h a v e b e g u n a s a g r a s s r o o t s movement outside Italy in New York City where on March 8, 1857, garment workers went on strike, leading to the formation of the first women's union. In 1 9 4 5 , t h e U n i o n o f I t a l i a n Women proclaimed that March 8 should be set aside to cele- brate all women. A year later, it became a nationally recognized day for women. The mimosa t r e e w h i c h b l o o m s i n M a r c h with its bright yellow flowers and refreshing scent, became the symbol of La Festa delle Donne. I t ' s p e r f u m e d b r a n c h e s a r e given by family and friends to the women in their lives as a gesture of appreciation and love. *** S t . J o s e p h D a y o n M a r c h 19th is also Italy's Father's Day. St. Joseph Day, until 1998, was also a National Holiday. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ, a carpenter by trade, is also the patron saint of orphaned c h i l d r e n , t h e d i s p o s s e s s e d homeless and the hungry. In Italy and in the US many fami- lies and Italo-American organi- zations create St. Joseph Day Tables. Instead of meat, there is fish, vegetables, fruits, pastries and bread. Vegetables of different kinds are fried in an egg batter and served hot or cold. The most common way to prepare spaghetti sauce for St. Joseph Day is with the finocchio ( f en n el o r an is e) p lan t, h ar d boiled eggs and sugar. Another t r a d i t i o n a l d i s h i s p a s t a a l l a Milanese. It is a concoction of western Sicily, made with fresh sardines and/or anchovies, the g r e e n p a r t o f t h e f i n o c c h i o plant, pine seeds and raisins. It usually is only made for the St. J o s e p h f e a s t s . T h i s d i s h , n o doubt, comes from the Arabic influence that ruled Sicily many centuries ago. Other important ingredients of St. Joseph's Altar are the dried fava beans that remind us of the severe drought in Sicily centuries ago. Donations to the poor from visitors to the St. Joseph tables are collected by the hosts and passed on for wor- thy charitable programs.

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