L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano T h o s e f a m i l i a r with the Christ- mas presents' d e l i v e r y b u s i - ness know there is more than one person in charge. Santa may be the most popular, but kids from t h e n o r t h e r n r e g i o n s o f Europe do get early parcels from Saint Nicholas, and Italian children of yore had theirs delivered on Christ- mas night by no less that the S a v i o r h i m s e l f , B a b y Jesus. But you know, in a couple o f d a y s , o n t h e n i g h t between the 12th and the 13th of December, kids of Northern Italy will get some early gifts, too, courtesy of young Santa Lucia. Our Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily, and it is a martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. Tradition says she had con- verted to Christianity and that, because she refused to marry the man her family had chosen for her, she had her eyes gauged out. For this reason, she is considered the saint of light and the p r o t e c t o r o f t h e e y e s . A Sicilian by birth, our Lucia's final resting place was (and still is) Venice, where she is worshipped along with Saint Mark; this is why, probably, her cult is so widespread also in the North. B u t w h e n a n d h o w d i d she become a gift bearer? I n t r u t h , t h e r e a r e m a n y l e g e n d s a b o u t i t , b u t t h e most popular is the one hai- ling from Verona, where t h e d a y o f S a n t a L u c i a i s celebrated with a famous fair. Story goes that, in the 13th century, the city was hit by a vicious and mysterious epidemic that had left many children blind. People asked Santa Lucia, holy protector of the eyes, to save the com- m u n i t y a n d , a s a s i g n o f devotion, they organized a barefoot pilgrimage on the day dedicated to the her. Children were asked to par- ticipate, too, as they were the most hit by the myste- rious illness, but walking in the snow without wearing any shoes wasn't that appea- l i n g t o t h e m , s o t h e i r p a r e n t s i n f o r m e d t h e m , quite astutely, that Santa Lucia was to leave presents for them back home, if they honored her with that walk in the cold. Thanks to that, children did take part to the pilgrimage and soon the city was freed from the dange- rous scourge. Tradition says that kids should write a letter to Santa Lucia, listing all the present they'd like to receive. But that's not sufficient, because they also have to bring proof they have been good during the year, otherwise they'd get nothing. They are also advised to leave a plate with cookies for Lucy and some hay and milk for Gastaldo, h e r f a i t h f u l d o n k e y , t h a t helps her deliver presents every year. As a "thank you" for the snack, the two leave a handful of candies and cho- colates in the empty plates. On the night of the 12th of D e c e m b e r , S a n t a L u c i a walks through towns and villages, ringing a s i l v e r bell to announce her passa- g e : t h a t ' s w h e n c h i l d r e n must run to bed, lest they g e t n o p r e s e n t s a t a l l : indeed, kids must be asleep and avoid sneaking on the presents-delivering saint, or they won't receive anything but coal! If you know your Italian Christmas traditions well, you must've noticed there are parallels between Santa Lucia and Baby Jesus, as children are forbidden to stay up and wait for them b o t h , b u t a l s o w i t h t h e Befana, who brings coal to naughty kids. Many readers probably know that Santa Lucia is not only a beloved figure in I t a l y , b u t a l s o i n Scandinavian countries: h e r e , o n t h e n i g h t o f t h e 12th of December, children make special cookies for her and then, the following mor- ning, the eldest daughter in the family wakes up before everyone else, dresses like the saint, in white with a red belt, and serves to the whole family the cookies baked the night before. W hether it is becau- s e w e h a v e m a n y t o m a k e o r b e c a u s e w e ' r e curious about which ones we'll receive, there is little doubt that presents domi- nate our thoughts in the month of D e c e m b e r . In Italy, we call them regali (rai-gah-lee, presents) and regalo (rai-gah-loh) it's the singular form of the word. A p p a r e n t l y , t h e t e r m c o m e s f r o m t h e S p a n i s h regalo, which in turn comes f r o m t h e L a t i n r e g a l i s , "regal," which was used to indicated a present given to the King. Indeed, even non- l i n g u i s t s w i l l n o t i c e t h a t regalo and regale, the adjec- tive in Italian we associate with all that is royal, have the same root. Regalo, as we said, means " p r e s e n t " a n d t h e r e a r e plenty of expressions in our language where the word a p p e a r s : f a r e u n r e g a l o m e a n s t o m a k e a p r e s e n t a n d w e d o n ' t o n l y u s e i t when it comes to material gifts, but also metaphorical- l y , a s i n t h e s e n t e n c e s e potessi accompagnarmi, mi faresti davvero un regalo ("if you could come with me, it'd really help"). The verb regalare tran- slates with " to make a pre- s e n t , " " t o d o n a t e , " o r " t o gift." Just like the noun, the verb can be used in senten- ces where the gift given is not material: passare tempo insieme è il regalo più bello ("spending time together is the most beautiful gift"). Very popular in Italian are also variations regalino and regalone: while their s u f f i x e s d o h i n t a t t h e i r sizes (smaller the first, lar- ger the second), it isn't really to that we refer when using them: a regalino is the equi- valent of a pensiero or pen- sierino, that is, a thoughtful b u t s m a l l , n o n e x p e n s i v e gift, while regalone is usual- l y s o m e t h i n g i m p o r t a n t , very expensive or very use- ful. — Che gran regalo mi fai, venendo a cena da me! — What a great pleasure it is, to have you for dinner! — T i h a c o m p r a t o u n computer nuovo? Beh, que- sto sì che è un regalone. — She bought you a new computer? Well, that's really a big present — Non è nulla di speciale, solo un regalino per te. — It's nothing special, just a little something for you. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the Day: Regalo — what we think about the most this time of the year Italian curiosities: Lucy, her donkey and why she brings presents to Italian children Santa Lucia brings presents to Italian children on the night between the 12th and the 13th of December, along with her donkey Gastaldo (Photo: Matteo Ceruti/Dreamstime)

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