L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2020 L'Italo-Americano LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE W inter is such a f a n t a s t i c t i m e o f t h e year. It's my favorite sea- son and I just love it. The snow, the chilly air, the color of the sky. Everything is just perfect. Winter is also a season that l e n d s i t s e l f f a n t a s t i c a l l y t o s t o r y t e l l i n g , w i t h a l l t h a t "gathering around the fireplace with hot cocoa" type of atmo- sphere permeating the air and, indeed, there are many winter stories to tell, from every corner of the world, Italy included. From the magical fir trees of Valle d'Aosta in the nights of December, we'll pass to the colder days of January, known i n I t a l y a s t h e G i o r n i d e l l a Merla, and see how they are celebrated around the country. But now, put on that scarf and hat: we're starting from the Alps! The derbé of Cogne Legends say that in the area b e t w e e n C r é t a z a n d t h e V a l t o n e y w o o d s , i n V a l l e d'Aosta, not all fir trees are the same. Majestic and beautiful, they all are, but there was one that…was able to walk around and follow passersby. Nighttime travelers used to talk about a derbé — a leafy fir tree, in dia- lect — born without roots and a b l e t o g o a f t e r t h e m i n t h e woods. The derbé didn't want t o h a r m a n y o n e : a c t u a l l y , i t wanted to protect travelers who seemed to fear the dark and the cold of winter nights the most. Apparently, it also had a pen- chant for gossip, and liked to listen to people's conversations a lot. It would follow wanderers all the way to the village of Cogne, a bit protective and a bit nosy, just like an old friend. But not everyone appreciated its presen- ce. One night, a particularly upset man, tired of having the old derbé around, picked up his rifle and shot at it in the dark, hurting its centuries-old trunk: sore and humiliated, the derbé retreated into darkness and was never seen again. The people of Cogne remember it every year at Christmas when they decorate a large fir tree in the village's main square. And, I bet, every time they take a winter walk in the woods and a show covered derbé seems to look at them benevolently. Now, let's rest for a moment under its branches, heavy with lights, ornaments and cookies and let's have a mug of vin brûlé to warm ourselves up. We have more stories to tell. I Giorni della Merla Let's leave our walking fir tree in December and move into the new year. Traditionally, January is considered the colde- st month of the year in Italy, especially its last three days, the 29th, 30th and 31st, which we call Giorni della Merla, or the "female blackbird days." Weather experts debunked this myth, but Italians still love the legend, without a doubt tied for m a n y o f t h e m t o b e a u t i f u l childhood memories. You see, blackbirds, or so the story goes, used to be as white and snow and used to col- lect food to keep in their nest during the early weeks of win- ter, so that they could survive the icy days of January without l e a v i n g i t : t h e i r a i m w a s t o finally peak out of their home only when the sun was back high in the sky. And so did they, a long time ago, finally flying out of their tree on the 28th of January, mocking the winter with their chirping: the cold season did no longer frighten them! But Winter didn't appreciate all that joy and chit-chat, nor the birds' benevolent mocking, so it sent out the coldest, iciest of winds, that froze the earth over and destroyed all of the blackbirds' nests. Left without shelter, they found refuge in chimneys, comforted by their warmth. But when the storm ended in February and they flew o u t i n t h e s k y a g a i n , t h e i r feathers had turned black becau- se of the sooth they had lived in for the past three days. This is why, we all learned as children, blackbirds are black. And as you would expect in Italy, where each region has dif- ferent traditions and stories, the Giorni della Merla are lived and celebrated in many a way across the country. In some areas of the North, for instance, namely in Lodi and in the Cremona province, this time of the year is honored with singing. In Lodi, two groups of people stand on the opposite banks of the Adda River and sing to each other a song, one verse each. I n m a n y v i l l a g e s a r o u n d Cremona survives a similar tra- dition, with groups of people gathering, often dressed in tradi- tional costumes, either in the main square, in front of the local church, along the river or around a bonfire, to sing traditional songs. In many regions of Italy, like Friuli, Piemonte and Liguria, p e o p l e w o u l d b a s e d t h e weather forecast for the fol- lowing months on those three days: January would be like the 29th, February like the 30th and March like the 31st. That's inte- resting: shall we see if our grand parents were right with that? FRANCESCA BEZZONE Winter legends for an Italian 2020 Snow, and blue skies: the last days of January are known in Italy as Giorni della Merla (Copyright: Dreamstime)

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