L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021 L'Italo-Americano I talians and Ameri- cans have plenty of things in common, but there is one they d o n ' t s h a r e : Father's Day. T o b e t r u t h f u l , i t ' s n o t only the US and Italy that celebrate their dads on diffe- r e n t t i m e s o f t h e y e a r , b e c a u s e F a t h e r ' s D a y — unlike children's undying love for their papà — is not the same everywhere: in the United States, it falls on the t h i r d S u n d a y o f J u n e ; i n R u s s i a o n t h e 2 3 r d o f F e b r u a r y , o n o c c a s i o n o f Defender of the Fatherland's Day; in Scandinavia, on the s e c o n d S u n d a y o f November. In Italy, just like i n o t h e r M e d i t e r r a n e a n countries such as Spain and Portugal, as well as some Southern American ones, la Festa del Papà happens on the 19th of March, the day Catholic tradition dedi- cates to the most iconic dad of them all: Saint Joseph. I n d e e d , t h e r o o t s o f Italy's Festa del Papà are r e l i g i o u s , b e c a u s e o f t h e a s s o c i a t i o n b e t w e e n fatherhood and the figure of Joseph, the Christ's "adopti- ve" father. His cult was solid i n t h e E a s t , b e f o r e Benedictine monks brought it to the West and made it popular around 1030. Later in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, devotion to Saint Joseph was embraced also by the Servites in the 1 4 t h c e n t u r y a n d b y t h e Franciscans, a century later. I n t h e s a m e p e r i o d , t h e 1 5 0 0 s , P o p e S i x t u s I V introduced Saint Joseph's worship officially into the R o m a n C a l e n d a r a n d , i n 1871, he became the patron saint of fathers and of the Church. Saint Joseph's Day used to be, up until the mid- 1970s, a national holiday and not only a religious one, m e a n i n g p e o p l e s t a y e d home from work and kids didn't go to school. And so, here in Italy, San Giuseppe is the day dedi- cated to the protector of all fathers and, by extension, to a l l o f o u r b e l o v e d p a p à . T h e r e a r e t w o t h i n g s Italians do for the occasion — well, three, if you add get- ting silly socks and cookies for their dads: celebrating with bonfires and eating zeppole. It is not unusual, in some parts of Italy, to see traditio- nal Saint Joseph celebra- tions revolving around fire: this is because, in ancient pagan tradition, the day was associated with the end of the Winter and, therefore, with rituals of purification and fertility, both symboli- zed by the cleansing power of fire. Our falò, so common in the countryside on this very day, are nothing more than a marker for the passa- ge from Winter to Spring and the rebirth of Nature. In s o m e a r e a s , p u p p e t s — usually in the unpleasant form of a hag — are burnt: a way to say, "enough with old (the cold Winter), bring in the new (the fresh and fra- grant Spring)! Between fires and zep- pole, I certainly prefer the latter, though. While they are not traditionally com- mon all over Italy — they originated in the South — today you'll find them pretty much in all bakeries around the country, on the 19th of March. For those who are not familiar with them, zep- pole are deep fried dough balls, filled with custard or j a m a n d s p r i n k l e d w i t h sugar. In some regions, like the Frosinone area of Lazio, zeppole are baked and not fried, and in Calabria you even find a savory version, filled with anchovies and sultanas; these, however, a r e n o t m a d e f o r S a i n t Joseph's Day, but for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. So, Saint Joseph's Day a n d F a t h e r ' s D a y a r e synonym in Italy, but there a r e o t h e r … S a i n t J o s e p h celebrations we should talk about. For instance, in Italy we celebrate Saint Joseph not only as a father, but also as a craftsman: on the 1st of M a y , I t a l i a n C a t h o l i c s remember San Giuseppe Artigiano (Saint Joseph the Craftsman), Christian symbol of all workers. Let's not forget Joseph was a car- penter himself! The feast was instituted by Pope Pius X I I i n 1 9 5 5 , a r e l i g i o u s answer to the fully atheist Workers'Day that falls on the same day. Now that you know why I t a l y ' s F a t h e r ' s D a y i s i n March, let's take a look at the reason Americans cele- brate it in June. First of all, i t i s n ' t o n l y t h e U S t h a t chose the Summer to honor all fathers, but also the UK, C h i n a a n d J a p a n , j u s t t o name a few. But why? Well, on the 19th of June 1910, 26 years old Sonora Smart Todd , from West V i r g i n i a , o r g a n i z e d a b i g party to celebrate the birth- day of her own father, a Civil W a r v e t e r a n : i t w a s t h e beginning of a long tradition i n d e e d , t h a t w a s m a d e n a t i o n a l i n 1 9 2 4 b y President Calvin Coolidge, and finally officialized in 1966 by Lyndon Johnson, w h o m a d e o f t h e t h i r d Sunday in June America's own Festa del Papà. To keep in line with that p r o v e r b i a l l o v e f o r t h e f a m i l y b o t h I t a l i a n s a n d Italian-Americans have, we should get into the habit — if we don't already do it, that is! — of embracing both tra- d i t i o n s a n d t r e a t i n g o u r papà to an extra hug, a little present and some more "me and you time" in March and i n J u n e . O r , a s i t s h o u l d really be, we should just use both occasions to remind ourselves fathers deserve all that and more, every single day of the year. On the day dedicated to Saint Joseph, symbol of fatherhood, Italy celebrates its Festa del Papà (Photo: Thoom/Shutterstock.com) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE A traditional St Joseph's table (Photo: Suzanne C. Grim/Shutterstock.com) Celebrating all papà on Saint Joseph's Day FRANCESCA BEZZONE

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