L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS match the number of players and indiscriminately passed out, each player receiving o n e . T h e r e c i p i e n t o f t h e K i n g b e c o m e s t h e " I n s p e c t o r , " w h o e v e r receives the Ace becomes the "Assassin." The Assassin's "bullet" is a wink; any player (known as a civilian) who c a t c h e s a w i n k i s m o r t o ( d e a d ) a n d t h u s r e v e a l s his/her card to the others. T h e I n s p e c t o r ' s k e e n e y e m u s t d e c i d e w h o t h e Assassin is, then "arrest" them by revealing his/her card to that person before all c i v i l i a n s h a v e m e t t h e i r maker. Correct discernment e q u a l s a w i n ; o t h e r w i s e , crime pays and the Assassin is victor! Larger groups can add to the intrigue by assign- i n g t w o e a c h o f t h e Inspectors and Assassins. Exuberant competition continues with the boisterous card game of Mercante in F i e r a – M e r c h a n t a t t h e Fair. A game of chance along w i t h s o m e l i g h t b e t t i n g , M e r c a n t e i n F i e r a i s believed to have originated in the 14 th century in Venice. No one knows for certain, but what is known is the pop- ularity of the game around a h o l i d a y t a b l e . S p e c i a l Mercante in Fiera card decks are a must. The color- fully illustrated decks tradi- tionally come in two sets of 40 cards each, the back side of each deck in an opposing color. Rules of the game can be changed by participants, b u t t h e b a s i c p r e m i s e involves a chosen "merchant" and his audience of bidders, the remaining players. The merchant deals two cards, face down, to each player to begin the game. Things heat up as players then bid using a g r e e d u p o n " p a y m e n t s " (coins, beans, candy) for the remaining cards as the mer- chant auctions them in sets of 1 to 3 or 4 cards. When the first deck has "sold out," the merchant then has a player blindly pull 3 cards from the second deck. These are the lucky winning cards, promptly hidden away with great fervor. With the e n t h u s i a s m o f a c i r c u s sideshow hawker, the mer- chant then begins to one by one reveal the remaining cards – each one a losing card. Excitement builds as p l a y e r s r e m a i n i n g c a r d s increase in value – a card not yet discarded could be a win- n e r ! P l a y e r s c a n b i d a n d trade for each other's cards, and often do, resulting in a loud, fun free-for-all. The w i n n e r s a r e a w a r d e d t h e "take" from earlier sales in whatever amounts were set by the merchant. Of course, there are other t r a d i t i o n a l g a m e s p l a y e d during the holiday season besides these, and just as with traditions in general, families have their personal favorites. M a n y o f t h e s e g a m e s , including the ones above, can easily be bought online…if not in Italy. Perhaps it's time to start a new family tradi- tion in grand Italian style! Continued from page 4 Sitting with the family, playing card games: a typical Christmas afternoon (Photo: Alessandro De Leo/Dreamstime) Le domande di ammissione alle prove dovranno pervenire entro le ore 24:00 del giorno 7 gennaio 2021. Avviso di selezione per l'assunzione di un impiegato a contratto da adibire ai servizi di collaboratore amministrativo nel settore Contabilita' – manifestazioni culturali – traduzione presso l'Istituto Italiano di Cultura di San Francisco. Il bando e' scaricabile dal sito www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it Concorso per l'assunzione di un impiegato a contratto all'Istituto Italiano di Cultura di San Francisco

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